


Our Way

by AsunaMK8



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action & Romance, Android Saga, Bulma Briefs/Yamcha - Freeform, Canon Universe, Dragon Ball Super - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Garlic Jr. Saga, Ignores Dragon Ball GT, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lemon, Majin Buu Saga, One True Pairing, Planet Namek, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Three Year Gap (Dragon Ball), Trauma, long-fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2019-09-28 10:40:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 71,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17181428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsunaMK8/pseuds/AsunaMK8
Summary: During the struggle on Namek, Vegeta is unexpectedly reunited with a friend of his past after many years of being forcibly separated by Frieza's wrath. With previous lives of luxury and nobility, the two of them struggle to continue where they left off after tragedy has run its course - with new and unforeseen power, trauma, and allies. Slow burn VegeOC.





	1. A New Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: Thanks for taking the time to give my stuff a read! It’s been a long journey for me to get the story to this point! This story has been in the making for 10 years! Currently, I’m taking my super old work and rewriting it to fit my current self and style, so if you see old reviews for chapters that don’t exist, thats why. Enjoy, and stay cool!
> 
> Thanks everyone!  
> \- Asuna

**_Chapter One - New Hope_** **  
**  
As they flew across Namek’s hilly plains and mountains, Gohan and Krillin quickly dove down at the sound of a large blast from down below. In a hurry to investigate, they found themselves in the middle of an episode of turmoil not far from where they tucked away as they crawled to a lip of the cliff and peered over the edge. 

From the bottom of the small mountain, a sizeable squad of armoured men looked to be terrorizing a Namekian village. Creatures of all shapes and sizes in matching armoured suits were grieving a small group of civilians, while others were recklessly demolishing houses and gardens for fun. As if that weren’t enough, the occasional Namekian body littered the torn up ground, to the pair’s misery, dead.

The longer they surveyed the scene, the more a sickeningly obnoxious aura struck their senses with increasing aggression, putting the both of them at a loss for words in fear of discovering who or what it had been coming from. There was so much raw power from _somewhere,_ the drastic density of it made them both powerlessly pale in comparison. Despite the torment from all of the soldiers, there was no question that an even bigger threat was among the group. 

A petite, purple alien with pointy black horns comfortably sat in a hovering throne off to the side to supervise, accompanied by a couple of what seemed to be Namek’s variant of the Dragon Balls, the same very Dragon Balls that they’d come all the way to Namek to gather to revive their fallen friend.

Krillin and Gohan gave each other a silent but nervous glance. No doubt about it, this guy was trouble. The two of them felt around at his repulsively thick energy to get a better understanding of what they were about to deal with - this purple thing took absolutely no effort to hide his power. Clearly, he wanted _everyone_ he crossed to know that he meant business, and it was working.

Alongside the ridiculously powerful elephant in the room, a large, spiky pink blob of a man and a tall, toned and more handsome green individual joined him on the sidelines. The both of them snickered and smirked away as their crew went through the area in merciless destruction, while a much smaller woman in a similar but moderately damaged uniform stand cuffed and chained to the green thing’s muscled ankle, unimpressed. She was less than pleased, but refused to make an effort to show or vocalize it. Unlike these two men, she seemed bored, standing completely still and turned away from the action, presumably out of distaste for the situation.

"Man, why does _this_ guy have to have the Dragon Balls?" Krillin whispered harshly with a curse under his breath. “It can never just be _easy_ , can it...”

Gohan found himself peculiarly stumped on the woman more than anything. Her appearance didn’t have any physical resemblance to any of the men surrounding her, so she couldn’t have been related to any of them. The way she dismissed herself from the scene confused him as well, she remained entirely unfazed by arguably the most gruesome display of violence he’d ever set his eyes on. Was she used to this? Was it possible to be so accustomed to such disgusting acts of torture? She hadn’t uttered a single word or expression to indicate what her agenda was.

She was the odd one out, he finally noted to himself, it was unmistakable.

"This is going to make things tricky.” Gohan joined in with an uncertain tone. He racked his brain even further, moving on to her more distinct features. Her green uniform had an interesting resemblance to a certain Saiyan prince’s blue version that he’d had a run in with back on Earth not too long ago.

Perhaps Vegeta had an affiliation with this group?

Wouldn’t _that_ be an interesting turn of events.

"Hey, Krillin, does something seem weird about the girl down there?” He couldn’t help but ask. “I mean, she’s the only one that isn’t doing _anything…_ Like she’s some kind of captive? Maybe we should try and help her while we’re here?"

Krillin responded him a dubious moan.

"I wouldn’t be so sure just yet," Krillin grumbled, still hesitant to make a move. "She’s dressed like them, it could just be a trick they’re using. Also, uh... I’m not sure if I want to engage with these guys, y-you’re feeling what I’m feeling, right?"

Gohan rested his chin on a propped up arm, heavily debating with himself about what the decision to make would be. Also uncertain as to if jumping in would be a wise idea, he chose not to respond.

Stuck hopelessly to the green soldier's side, the woman avertedly slumped towards the cruel display to give it a look over, sorely disappointed and stricken with grief.

'I guess I wasn't missing out on much back in Zarbon’s quarters…' She pondered, her attention briefly shifting to a patch of unharmed ground nearby. 

From among the strange blueness of this planet’s grass, she spotted a small rock and slightly perked up out of curiosity. She gave the generals a quick scan to see if anyone was watching her, only to be left unnoticed by anyone’s immediate attention.

‘...Perhaps I can get some practice in while no one’s looking.’

After a hushed but heavy breath, she went on to clear her mind of the surroundings. The outcries of Namekian villagers had lost themselves in her deep concentration, as well as the loud crashing of explosions, her intense focus now undivided towards the lone and lifeless pebble. She narrowed her eyes, honing in even further, intensified her stare and held her breath with anticipation as she flexed a few fingers on each hand.

To her delight, the rock staggered choppily across the ground, rolling gently in the grass with the faintest of rustles as it went. Successful, she worked herself up in satisfaction and rejoice, causing her to lose control of her ongoing mission, to the point where the rock had flung itself back at her and nearly hit the metal cuff around her leg.

Straightening out her hands, she quickly took hold of it again in a desperate attempt to calm down, the rock thankfully coming to a complete stop just inches from her foot. Relieved, she let out an exhaled as quietly as possible.

'Stupid chain…’ She whined to herself. 'If only the whole fleet wasn't here, I would have a much higher chance of escaping once I pick the lock on this darn thing.'

In complete shambles aside from the odd wall still standing on some structures, she looked back over to what was left of the village, just in time to witness the chunky pink ball of a general get smashed into the remnants of a nearby hut. 

She stifled a gasp, her body immediately straightening up in shock, hopeful that there may be even a sliver of a chance to get away. After an irritable scowl, the tall green man beside her looked down to notice her sudden interest in the affair, reaching out a hand to playfully tousle her thick black hair after a soft smooth over her cheek.

"Hush, dear," He quickly commanded her. "We have this all under control."

She pulled her head away from him in retaliation, shivering with discomfort as she felt the tips of his fingers slowly slither their way through her thigh-length locks. She forced herself to continue watching the fight to distract herself from his creepy attempt to dissuade her, still confused as to what had happened to Dodoria just then. Endeared by her sudden interest, Zarbon admirably eyed her every few seconds as the battle played out, the two both of them paying close attention with wide eyes.

Krillin hastily swooped down and managed to grab a hold of a young child - the only living Namekian left in the village that he could spot. He shot a quick look towards the woman before he took off, causing her eyes to instantly light up as they met with his, begging him for help. Now certain that she wanted to be free from the pack she’d been with, he hesitated for a moment out of the goodness of his heart, then flew away before he gave it much more thought. With the intense weight of the group leader’s energy creeping back to the forefront of his thoughts, he questioned if it would be possible to try and find her later and help her out.

"Wait!" She cried out, extending an arm to Krillin as he grew distant.

"Enough!" The soldier attached to her raised his voice, crouching down to her level to get more personal. "You’re not going anywhere." He cooed flirtatiously, pecking her on the cheek.

Letting out a jittered whimper, she pushed away in disgust. Shouldn’t he have been paying attention to these strangers that had interfered with the mission?

"You should be grateful." Zarbon purred with a sly grin. "If it weren't for me, you would still be in your cell."

The woman pouted with a sigh. He didn’t seem to care in the slightest now.

"I hardly notice a difference being out of it..." She mumbled passively. 

Despite her clear rejection, the soldier gave her a handsome smile.

"There’s a difference for _me_ , you know." He allured onwards. "I can always see that lovely face of yours. You should be honoured, you know, such beauty doesn’t get to show itself every day."

Her face wrinkled, humiliated.

'As if it matters.’ She threw back in her thoughts, giving him a strong huff of dislike. ‘If it was anyone else telling me that, it wouldn't be such a problem for me...'

"I cannot bring myself to think of you like that.” She told him with a stiff, firm shake of her head, expecting outlash in return any second. "I’m simply not interested, sir.”

Zarbon laughed charmingly, taking a hand and delicately caressed her tender chin with his long, slender fingers. Gods, her skin was so _smooth_ , for someone that had gone through hell and back. He took great pride in being the one that saved her of the torment of getting beaten and roughed up by the holding cell guards back in the day, he’d truly left his mark in the beauty that shone upon her like a foreign sun.

"Oh? And since when do you think you have a choice?" He teased, a touch of frustration in his tone, now somewhat annoyed by her persistence. “The only person more suited is Lord Frieza, and I doubt you’d want to be _his_ lapdog!”

She cowered away from his increasing volume with a flinch - a small change of energy in the air from his anger led her to believe it was best to remain quiet. Surely, he had better things to be doing than getting frustrated over personal feelings.

"Come now, Zarbon." The purple alien finally spoke out with a single snicker. "Now is hardly the time to play bachelor. Having a partner is trivial. I don’t understand why it’s worth so much of your effort.”

Zarbon grew tense on the spot. Of course Lord Frieza didn’t understand - his lust craved destruction, a far less beautiful and more demanding hobby. And yet, Zarbon refrained from commenting on _his_ interests.

"I can be a gentleman _and_ a fearsome warrior, sir." He answered back with a sinister smirk. "You’ll reconsider, Miss Rosemary, I know you will. I am the best and most beautiful man by far, why fight me on it?  I, too, was a prince once upon a time, is that not enough for you?”

She reluctantly met his gaze with a loathing frown. She knew exactly where he was headed with this.  
‘If it makes you feel better…’ She thought to herself, indifferent. She boredly turned away from Zarbon. ‘I hope I’m able to escape this someday and break free.’ She thought back to Krillin saving the Namekian boy with ease in an attempt to raise her confidence. ‘Maybe it will happen soon. I just need the right opportunity and I can do it, I know I can.’

. . .

Bitter and hungry for revenge, Dodoria had already set off to look for the two men that interrupted the mission. He couldn’t be bothered with flirting around like Zarbon, he had better things to do, such as appease Lord Frieza’s wishes like the Frieza Force generals they were supposed to be. He spitefully flew onward and gave the air a study with care, hoping that Zarbon and Frieza weren’t already following him so he could see his fun through to the end.

'Those ruffians won't get away that easily, I should be able to find ‘em around here somewhere.' He hyped himself up encouragingly, hoping that he’d have a stroke of luck.

Up ahead, he’d managed to catch sight of a small sliver of something at last and chuckled in delight. 

'Huh, that was easier than I thought it would be, it’s only been, what, ten minutes?' 

Satisfied, he gave himself a firm nod, ready to start an assault with a clench of his teeth. 

‘Well, better get this over with.’

He unhinged his jaw to fire a blast from his mouth with a fierce shout, watching his work travel over to whatever it was that had been ahead from just over his upper lip. 

 

Not too far away, Gohan could hear a quiet whirring sound slowly growing on him. He frantically looked around to figure out where it was coming from and finally whipped around in a panic, to find a bright white flash coming his way, and _fast_.  
"Krillin, look out!" He wailed, immediately throwing himself out of the way to dodge it.

Without question, Krillin went to move as well but took a harsh hit to his left arm. A large gouge in his forearm surfaced itself as the recoil from the blast set in, making him aggressively yank it away and drop the child that he managed to save from the village just minutes ago.

"Damn!" He cursed sharply, diving to grab the child as he soared towards the open ocean below

He was quickly intercepted with a grab by the ankle from a familiar hefty pink hand.

"Heh, I gotcha now!" Dodoria chuckled in victory as he tightened his grip around the tiny man’s foot.

"Oh no, you don't!" Krillin retorted quickly, swinging upwards to smash Dodoria's face with a hard, bald head.

Not having the highest tolerance from the hit, Dodoria let go of Krillin to cup his face in his hands with an agonizing growl. His pudgy nose began to trickle with his purple-tinged blood, and he hated it. It was a rare sight, his own blood, it was even rarer that someone bothered to stand up to him _and_ draw blood.

Why did this have to take so much _work?_

Free from Dodoria's grasp, Krillin dove down again and managed to catch the young Namekian before he smacked the water, smoothly scooping him up with a swift swoosh from below. He took a deep exhale, relieved, and flew away as fast as he could.

As the group of them fled, Dodoria reluctantly managed to get over his pain, angrier than ever. 

“No one messes with _me_ ,” He grumbled. “These stinking kids are gonna get it.”

He wiped the small trickle of blood from his face with a dramatic swipe of the back of his hand and raced towards them yet again.

Dende bent his head back to look over Krillin’s arm to find a tiny pink dot approaching them and  fearfully cowered into Krillin’s hold.

"Sir!" The child hollered. "The pink guy is coming back! Can we get away?"

Krillin didn’t bother to look behind him to see for himself.

'Damn it…' Krillin thought, sloppily assessing his options. ‘Now that I think about it, if this guy’s flying faster than we can, I may have to play dirty… Welp, I don’t wanna have to do this…’

"Close your eyes, kid!" Krillin called out, pinning the child under an arm. 

He whipped around and lifted his hands to his face. 

_"SOLAR FLARE!"_

A blinding flash of light exploded from Krillin's eyes, surrounding the area with nothing but a powerful but excruciatingly bright white glow as bright as Namek’s four suns.

Taking it all at point blank, Dodoria desperately shielded his eyes.

"What the hell-?!" Dodoria growled, now in even more pain, unable to open his eyes without an otherworldly burning pain. "Dammit, I can't see! What the hell _was_ that?!"

As Dodoria flailed around and rubbed his face to get his vision back, Krillin flew away to catch up with Gohan.

Dende giggled in delight from under his arm.

"That was a close call, Mister!" The child cheered. “That was quite the technique!”

"Tell me about it!" Krillin laughed it off, surprised with himself as well. "I just hope it was enough…"

 

After a furious amount of eye watering, excruciating irritation and blotchy spots as he waded in the sky, Dodoria finally managed to start seeing things properly. He blinked hard and fast and forced himself to keep them open enough to see his surroundings, concluding that the bald man and the kids were gone for good. In the end, it wasn’t a _huge_ deal - he was chasing them for his own enjoyment, after all - but what it _did_ mean was that there was a new bunch of people kicking around that would get in the way of Frieza’s plans.

"Well, that's just great," He grumbled, huffing in defeat. "I've lost 'em now. Welp, time to report back to Lord Frieza...."

Before he could act, he was slammed downwards towards a small island in the middle of the ocean by a some untraceable figure. His large structure sent his trajectory off course as he plummeted through the dense air, causing him to miss the land and smack the water beside it with a huge splash. After a few seconds, Dumbfounded, Dodoria resurfaced in a scurry, climbed onto the island and threw his head up to the sky.

"Now, who in their right mind-"

A notorious outburst of laughter sounded from above.

"Well, look who it is!" A smug, raspy voice taunted. "Quite the coincidence _,_ finding you here."

Dodoria scowled, instantly recognizing the voice’s owner. Up above was a short but well-toned, pointy-haired man in a vibrant blue shade of armour of a similar model to his own - the arrogant Saiyan Prince, Vegeta, in all his pretentious splendor. He wondered how he could have ran into the Saiyan on Namek of all places  - he’d just recently took leave from the fleet to carry out a ‘personal’ mission.

He couldn’t have returned already on good terms.

"Well, if it isn’t Prince Vegeta, back so soon?" He called up with a playful grin. "You must have some nerve to pull a fast one on _me,_ of all people! Last time I checked, I was _stronger_ than you!"

Vegeta chuckled in amusement, carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"Power aside, I've got a task of my own." He fired back with a cocky smirk of his own. "I'm trying to find something, but I found you instead, pity. I won’t waste my time here."

‘A task, he says?’ Dodoria mulled, intrigued. ‘Huh, maybe his _personal_ mission happened to have led him _here._ ’

"If it's your _lady_ friend," Dodoria sneered provocatively. "You're finally in luck. Gonna have to fight Zarbon for her, though. He’s gotten attached.”

Vegeta’s confident smile instantly disappeared.

"You must be mistaken from that hard hit you took." He dismissively scoffed. "I've never had a lady friend or anything of _that_ variety.”

Dodoria flew up to examine him further. Surely, he hadn’t forgotten about such a close comrade! 

Now leveled with the Saiyan, he raised a curious eyebrow.

"Probably our fault for that one. You've let her go then, huh?" He prodded further. “You know _exactly_ who I’m talkin’ about.”

As he rummaged around in his thoughts some more while maintaining a hard stare on him, a light went off in his head, and Vegeta tensed up in realization.

'It can’t be.’ He took a moment to rethink, old and painful memories now rushing to the forefront of his thoughts. He’d tried to dismiss them from his memory ages ago for good reason, and yet his fists clenched tightly as the weight of his past set in once again. Yes, the countless walks through the hall, meetings in the courtyard, restless nights lost to his imagination and meandering over-

‘No, he can't _possibly_ be talking about-'

"Would be a shame if Lady Rosemary heard that," Dodoria edged on playfully.

What a day this was turning out to be.

"I heard she’s got high hopes of seein' you again someday." He cockily crossed his arms. "She's become quite the pretty little one, too. Coulda worked out, y’know."

The name hit him like a wall. Vegeta was petrified, mortified, even. The name was as good as dead to him until now - to him, it represented a miserable tragedy in his history.

And yet, the name made his blood boil. The events that led to this person’s demise, or so he had thought, the burden of _guilt_ that rushed through him as he recalled them was unspeakable. 

He thought he was through with such mental and emotional torment.

"You _dare_ ,” Vegeta uttered a menacing hiss. “You dare to tell me she's _alive_?!" 

He vanished in a flash, reappearing behind Dodoria in a senseless fury. He grabbed one of his chubby pink limbs with a responsive grunt of acknowledgement from his adversary, who had turned around to retaliate with a swipe of his other arm, but failed.

Vegeta hopped over him without delay, snagging his other arm before he could respond further. Both arms within his grasp, Vegeta mercilessly slammed a foot into Dodoria's back. 

"You _dare_ to tell me, after all these years," Vegeta growled through bared teeth, ragingly jamming his foot against Dodoria’s spine. "You forced her to live?!"

Dodoria tried to forcefully yank his arms away in agony. Unamused, Vegeta dug his foot even deeper. Surprisingly pliable, it was.

"You could have killed her to save time, but instead you _actually_ decided to probe her for more? _Despicable_ , and for what gain?!"

Vegeta waited for a response, but received nothing but a distressed groan.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t pull you apart, limb from limb, right here!" He roared in a near blind outrage, causing Dodoria to finally let out a cry of pain.

Dodoria could feel his arms get ready to snap out of sockets.

"I can tell you where she is!" Dodoria begged with a yelp. "If you kill me now, you might not be able to find her!"

"You underestimate me _greatly._ " Vegeta threatened further. "But, I suppose you can save me the time and trouble. Have at it, Pinkie."

Vegeta reluctantly let go of Dodoria, doubtful but on guard. He didn’t have a good track record with the general as of late, he’d be amazed if that had suddenly changed.

Dodoria laughed hysterically and darted off without a second thought. What a _joke_ , Vegeta actually believed him and let him go!

Vegeta bared his teeth once again, disgusted, and began to charge an attack through cupped hands. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest, but this time, he vowed to have the upper hand.

"Ha! You fool!" Dodoria cackled as he flew away in a hurry. "Who knew a silly girl would make him reconsider so damn quickly?!"

"You must be pretty brave if you think you’re getting away from me after a stunt like _that._ " Vegeta mumbled, grinning as he extended his arms to release an excessively powerful blast. Only the best of his power, for the best of suitors. Besides, it had been a short while since he could really _let loose_ on someone, and it left such a lasting ecstasy that he could never get tired of.

As if to signal his incoming demise, Dodoria’s Scouter began beeping at a ridiculous rate. 

Dodoria went to look over his shoulder, and little did he know, it would be the last view he ever saw.

"What-" He managed to say, before his voice was silenced, his very being disintegrating under the raw intensity of the blow. 

From the distance, Vegeta smirked, proud and merciless as he watched Dodoria disappear before his eyes.

He crossed his arms in conclusion, taking a moment to process what he’d learned from the exchange as he continued to hover, undisturbed, in the Namekian sky.  
'Could he have been telling the truth?' He asked himself. Come to think of it, Lady Rosemary’s death had never been formally confirmed, but he assumed that it was simply because he wasn’t around the main sector enough to be informed.

He squared his arms and dismally stared off into the open air before him.

‘It’s possible.’

. . .

Zarbon monitored the fight over his Scouter in his quarters back at the main ship, with Rosemary still latched on to the chain beside him and leaning up against a wall with a bored stare towards the other side of the room. It was nothing out of the ordinary for Rosemary, she’d spent endless hours sitting on the cold metal floor of his room, lost in thought or fatigue for several hours a day daily.

But, unlike the current situation, she preferred it if she’d spent her time there alone.

Just then, everything had fallen silent, to the point where even Zarbon’s breaths were noticeably staggered. From what she could hear, there was no trace of feedback coming from Zarbon’s Scouter. Tired of standing beside him as he remained completely still in suspense, she’d finally decided to take her usual post and sit cross-legged on the floor beside him. As the cuff around her right leg dug into her ankle, she briefly adjusted herself and waited further.

'Could this really be it?' She asked herself in anticipation, excited with Zarbon's new expression but tried hard not to give her composure away. 'With Dodoria out of the picture, could this mean that I’m closer to freedom?'

"DAMN IT!" Zarbon screamed loudly, running to the opposite wall to smash his fists against it, obliviously dragging Rosemary across the floor with him. With her arm crushed against her weight as she made contact, she smacked against the wall harshly and made a loud yelp.

Clutching her arm, Rosemary slowly pulled herself away from the side of the room with her feet.

Zarbon whipped around immediately, realizing only then that he’d hurt her after being reckless.

"What could possibly be happening?” Rosemary moaned as she struggled to get up from the floor, gently massaging her arm. 

"Oh, love, I didn’t mean to hurt you... Please forgive me.” Zarbon knelt over her, worried, giving her a quick scan to make sure she wasn’t injured. He held out a hand to stroke her hurt shoulder. “It doesn't affect you, don’t concern yourself too much with it."

"Well, I’m kind of hurt now…” Rosemary sighed shyly, ignoring his care. “It must have been important if it made you so angry. Is someone dead? Do we have to report to Frieza?"

Zarbon frowned. While he wished that she was as sharp as she was weak, she wasn’t clueless and he needed to face the facts and report the news.

"Yes," he replied shortly. "And you’re coming with me."

 

With no further delay, Zarbon and Rosemary marched to the head of the ship, where Frieza stood  eagerly waiting for updates, glaring out the spacecraft bridge’s large window with hands poised behind his back. Hearing the door open behind him, he turned around to greet them with a dignified grin.

"Ah, Zarbon," Frieza began casually, looking over to Rosemary for a split second, still protectively clutching her arm, then turned to Zarbon. "Have you any news? Dodoria hasn't reported back to me yet."

Already anticipating a consequence, Zarbon froze at the sound of Dodoria's name.

Rosemary suspiciously glanced up at him through the corner of her eye. 

Frieza slid his gaze back to Rosemary after a moment of silence and minimal acknowledgement from Zarbon.

"Have you the answer I am looking for, Rosemary?" He prodded her with a less polite and intimidating tone. She bowed respectively, keeping calm despite the unknowingly tense situation.

"I do not, sir, forgive me." She firmly replied out of obedience. "Zarbon hasn’t given me any information, sir, and he is the only one between the two of us with a Scouter to know." 

She looked up to Zarbon and raised a brow, confused.

Frieza shook his head in disappointment.

"Tisk, tisk, Zarbon." Frieza sighed, annoyed. "You can't even let your own companion cover for you, remind me again why you keep her around." He crossed his arms impatiently. "Spit it out!" He snapped.

"Dodoria is d-dead, sir!" Zarbon blurted out anxiously, looking down to Rosemary with frightened eyes. She met his with shock and stayed quiet for her own sake. "It was Vegeta's doing, sir."

He exhaled in slight relief. 

Rosemary's eyes widened, baffled that Zarbon had managed to keep such information quiet until now. More importantly, Prince Vegeta was _on Namek?_

 _'What?'_ Rosemary thought, astonished but excited. She could feel her heart rate climbing, unsure of what to do with herself. 

She wanted to escape, _now_.

Frieza noticed her expression light up at the sound of her Prince’s name.

"Oh, _now_ look what you've done, Zarbon," Frieza continued slyly, motioning an arm towards Rosemary casually. "You've made her all excited." 

He pondered for a brief moment, then let out a dramatic sigh. 

"I'll give you one last chance to redeem yourself, Zarbon," He went on with a fierce glare. "Which also gives Miss Rosemary a chance to say goodbye to her precious prince. Find him, and bring him here. He could be of use to us."

Rosemary’s expression remained unchanged, her body practically vibrating in excitement.

‘Yes, this could be it!’ Rosemary affirmed to herself, determined to make this the perfect opportunity for her long-awaited, planned breakout from the Frieza Force. ‘I’ve been _so_ patient and it might finally pay off! I cannot mess this up… I doubt Zarbon will be too fond of me afterwards should I fail.’

"Yes, sir!" Zarbon shouted proudly, content in his own way, saluting him then taking off for the air.

Without giving Rosemary ample time to react, she was yanked upwards with him, yet again.

 


	2. Liberty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey guys, I wanted to make it known that I’ve altered Vegeta’s age from the original timeline to give the plot more of a coming-of-age vibe, which makes itself far more relevant later on in the story. Vegeta was originally six years old when his planet was blown up, and I’ve matured him to be a late teenager/young adult for the assault on the throne to give him a much higher sense of responsibility in his position as the prince. This is one of the very few changes from canon I'll be making throughout the fic.
> 
> June 2019 Edit: Hi guys, as I mentioned already, I’m editing everything in a fury to try and level everything out again in time for Saiyan Tales’ OC Appreciation Day on June 9th! That being said, bear with me if some stuff after this chapter seems wonky or lacking in depth since the day is creeping up on me!  
> Also, fight scenes are hard x_x

**__**

**_Chapter Two - Liberty_ **

 

Rosemary began to feel a burning pain in her right ankle shortly after she was dragged out of the ship by Zarbon’s impulsive take off, the shackle of her chain digging into her foot even further. She tried her best to adjust, while fighting off some motion sickness that was setting in from being unable to see much of anything due to her long hair flapping about in her face. 

Why did she have to have this stupid chain on, anyway? It’s not like she could fend for herself if she tried to make a break for it on her own... She may have been fast enough to run or fly away, sure, but the minute she got caught she’d be marked for slaughter, and it wasn’t a risk she found wise to take. 

She needed help to escape safely, and Vegeta might just be the one to help her do it.

She took a moment to ready herself for a bigger move, closing her eyes with a deep breath to mentally prepare for it as she grew even more nauseated. Counting to five in her head, she finally swung herself upwards with a small push of flight as she finished, successfully returning to Zarbon’s side with a limited amount of slack on her chain. Matching the pace of his flight as soon as she could, she focused her breathing to alleviate the sickness that grew on her and chose only to look ahead.

Unfazed, Zarbon refused to look at her, even after feeling the tug on his side of the chain. At the moment, he couldn’t care less that he’d caused her even more discomfort, already disregarding that he had already potentially maimed her earlier. 

He detested that the very mention of the Saiyan Prince got her going. He’d gone to great lengths to gain Rosemary’s approval - managing to allow her to stay with him instead of a filthy captive cell, tending to wounds that could have ended her life, prevented a ton of lab procedures to preserve this fine specimen… And yet, this girl clung to a figure of her past like it was the only thing that mattered in her world.

There was  _ nothing _ he couldn’t have if he’d so desired it, but as much as he longed for her gentle flame, she just simply wasn’t interested in him, and he  _ hated _ it. 

He stubbornly looked forward, despite the heavy glare Rosemary was giving him at the moment, as if to beg for his attention. Uneased by the silence, Rosemary ignored this.

"Zarbon," she winced as the shackle rubbed the wrong way against her foot again. "If you told me you were going to take off like that-"

"I don't care!" Zarbon shouted irritably, his temper rising. "And if you were wise, you would keep quiet, or else I might get rid of  _ you _  before we find Vegeta!"

Her eyes quickly snapped forward again.

"...As you wish.” Rosemary responded obediently, but couldn’t help but think about his reaction as he spat Vegeta’s name. ‘Jealous as usual.’ She remarked, grudgingly aware that Zarbon had known a good amount about their history. 

She took a moment to imagine what the prince would look like after what must have been close to twenty years since they last spoke, a more muscular and defined version of what she could remember obnoxiously taking the forefront of her thoughts without protest. He’d always been rather built despite his smaller size, being the Saiyan Elite warrior that he was, but she could only assume that a couple of decades probably did quite a number on his physique since then.

Her face grew hot and red as she blushed against her will, the idea more alluring than originally intended. 

Dismissing the thread of her imagination as best as she could, she was left dwelling on a single question.

‘Would he recognize  _ me?’ _

Zarbon huffed heavily after a few minutes of flight in complete silence, interrupting Rosemary’s daydreaming.

"For your information, I don’t plan to fight over you.” he broke the silence with a blunt but firm tone. “Not with  _ him _ . You’re  _ mine _ , and the Saiyan Prince will not change that.”

Rosemary looked over to him again with a blank gaze. She didn’t know how to respond, unsure as to if she should be grateful for his sudden change of heart, or worried that he was going to take any anger towards Vegeta that came out of him on her instead as they grew closer to a rather complex situation.

Zarbon gave her a harsh scowl. Of  _ course _ she didn’t respond, why would she?

“You could at  _ least _ be thankful that you have someone in the fleet that cares enough for you to keep you alive, among all of this.” He continued in a dulled, unimpressed gnarl. “After all I’ve done for you, you still don’t seem to acknowledge that for some reason.”

Rosemary ran an ongoing tally of things that she could truly thank him for on the spot - the list wasn’t as long as he seemed to believe. He saved her life once that she could remember, but only because someone else tried to kill her to stop him from completely claiming her as his own. It was a noteworthy act, she supposed, if he hadn’t loomed it over her for ages to come. Other than that, he stopped the guards from keeping her in a holding cell, so long as she couldn’t leave his side and put up with his unconsented acts of affection and forced attempts at intimacy. Nothing else came to mind.

"Of course, I’m not  _ unaware _ nor ungrateful that you have done me some favours.” she admitted freely. "I don’t expect you to understand this, General Zarbon, but I simply can’t deny that the Saiyan Royal Family has done just as many, if not more…”

"Whatever," Zarbon sneered stubbornly, snapping his head forward once again to pout as they continued on their flight path. "I know you’re infatuated with him. I’m not a fool.”

‘Perhaps, ages ago.’ she replied to herself in thought, uncaring of his opinions.

Just then, an unknown figure collided with them, stopping them in their tracks. As if a switch had been flipped into panic mode, Rosemary frantically looked around, already eager and ready to escape, hoping to see her lost friend soon.

Sure enough, the infamous Vegeta appeared roughly a hundred feet away, seemingly out of thin air.

Him and Rosemary locked eyes immediately, the both of them at a loss for words.

Without a second thought, she bolted towards him at a speed she’d hoped would break the chain she was attached to. 

Determined to make her fail, Zarbon gave the chain a small tug with his leg, causing her to slightly rebound backwards as she continued to fight back. She pressed on, wincing as the shackle dug into a patch of raw skin at the base of her ankle and rushed her with a burning pain. 

Force alone wasn’t going to be enough to break free. She needed to start being true to her abilities now.

She let out a tenacious growl through gritted teeth and angrily kicked the air with her free leg. 

‘I hope this works…’

"Alright, I’m  _ through _ with this!” She shouted in high spirit to hype herself up. "No more of this stupid chain… Yes, no more giving in! It’s  _ time. _ "

She curled her hands into tight fists, just as she had previously rehearsed on countless occasions with small inanimate objects. This was it, this was the moment she’d waited and spent forever practicing for to make sure she got it  _ just right.  _

She stared down the cuff around her foot with an intense focus, feeling for the pins in the lock and pressed her fingertips further into her fists as she prodded around. She was expecting a faint prickling sensation to appear against the tip of her fingers. Yes, she’d remembered every detail down to a science of sorts.

After just a bit more searching, to her delight, there was a tiny poke against the top of her middle finger. Triumphant, she gladly pressed it against the palm of her hand to slide the tightly fitted, single pin of the lock aside and successfully set herself free.

Not a second to spare, she rocketed upwards in a hurry, fast enough to vanish before Vegeta and Zarbon's eyes, leaving them to incoherently look around, shocked and completely clueless about the turn in events.

'What  _ was _ that?!' Vegeta thought to himself, stumped but pleasantly surprised. 'She picked the lock? But  _ how? _ This is new...'

Wide eyed and dreadfully perturbed, Zarbon was checking the area in a frenzy.

'How the hell did she break free?!' Zarbon angrily asked himself in a similar fashion. 'She didn't even need to touch anything! What is this ability?!’

Zipping around to ensure she remained unseen, Rosemary came to a halt just above and behind Zarbon’s head.

Vegeta was the first to spot her, locking eyes with a resolute, tattered, older variant of a close friend.

"Looking for me?" She boldly pierced the silence with inflated confidence, beaming downwards at Zarbon to hide just how terrified she was that her life was about to change.

Zarbon threw his head up, only to catch a glimpse of Rosemary’s foot as she confidently spin kicked his face. 

Quickly retreating a few feet back, Rosemary flaring both arms in front of her and concentrated on Zarbon’s body - his arms, his legs, the very flesh that confined his being. Yes, she could feel his repulsive, thick green limbs against her hands as if she was touching it herself. She knew this was about to be a larger test of her abilities, but a good benchmark for her power at the very least. Focusing in even further, as if to grab him with raw willpower, she tightened her hold on him with clawed hands.

Forced sideways out of recoil from her kick, he went to respond with a lunge, but to his surprise, couldn’t. 

Perhaps he was just unable to fly? He tried to shift his arms and legs, even his fingers, but nothing would budge.

His entire body wouldn’t move an inch.

Rosemary could feel his attempts with a forceful throb in the side of her temple and clenched her hands even further. It seemed that taking a hold of much larger,  _ living  _ beings was exponentially more difficult, as she’d expected. Assuming that Vegeta would help her should she begin to fail, she remained optimistic that if push came to shove, she could flee victoriously, and stayed vigilant and focused. 

'I did it…' she told herself, still in shock, her arms quivering in fright as she played the risks 'I can’t believe I  actually did it…'

Hesitant to move in order to keep her ground, the air grew thick as she fought further and she started panting for air, increasingly exhausted.

Off in the distance, amazed, yet baffled, Vegeta ogled in disbelief. He couldn’t piece things together at all, there was nothing for him to _see._ What he could tell, however, is that Zarbon _couldn’t_ react to her kick, and he _couldn’t_ do anything to stop her from hovering mere feet away from in a completely safe, controlled manner - _that_ must have been a whole different kind of torment.

'What the hell  _ is _ that?!' he asked himself, now squinting to try pick out anything that resembled a technique.

Nothing. Nothing at all. It might as well have been witchcraft.

Rosemary could only imagine his curiosity and finally darted over to him, her arms still stiffly held out in front of her, on guard.

"Come on!" She politely urged to him, her voice harsh in concentration. "We need to get out of here, or we’ll have to take him on! I- I can’t hold him for much longer…”

"I’m not leaving.” Vegeta solidly replied, still dazed but excited to fight, finally managing a grin. "Not when I have a lifeless punching bag in front of me.”

"...Of course." Rosemary moaned nervously to his remark. "It’d be just like you to take on a challenge…”

Vegeta held his grin in pride, but took to assessing her before he advanced.

'She’s still scared to try and fight, aside from what she’s done with this new ability of hers.' He noted quickly, glancing off to the side to see if she had gained any noticeable muscle. It didn’t seem as such, aside from maybe her calves which had a meatier look to them. He knew she’d liked to run, after all, he wasn’t at all surprised. She was still slightly shorter, if not exactly leveled with him, thank goodness. Speaking of height, her hair still graced her backside, all the way down to her waist, along with the same tall, messy mop she could never manage to have control over atop her head. 

This was  _ her _ , all right.

To his relief, it didn’t look as if she was starved during her time _ ‘away’ _ , her limbs still had a healthy structure to them, despite having no apparent muscle mass. More to his imagination, to top everything off, it was rather evident that she’d hit puberty and it treated her  _ well _ , now having wider hips and probably a bust hidden under her banged up armour - a  _ male _ soldier model, now that he’d taken the time to look. 

He grew awkwardly stiff as he took everything of hers in as quickly as he was, then gave his head a small shake - they were pointless details, anyway.

'Dodoria wasn't lying about her appearance much, I suppose.' He remarked honestly, eyes front again. ‘...Back to the task at hand.’

“It’s hardly a challenge for  _ me _ , let's finish this." He tossed an arm out to gesture her to move behind him. "Stay back, and keep doing whatever you were doing to hold him still."

Rosemary grew tense at the thought of having to engage in a full out fight. Her head was already throbbing from her efforts, and she worried what pushing her body would do if she’d tried to hold up for much longer. 

She wasn’t prepared for this - fighting wasn't a favourable option, not for her, anyway.

Her courage diminished as she remembered how weak she was compared to the prince many moons ago - perhaps it would be wise to inform him of her limits before he got the wrong idea.

Disheartened, she sighed.

“Listen, Your Highness, I don’t know if I can.” She told him cautiously, stifling her breath as the pain in her head grew more and more distinct. “I’ve never done this much until now.”

"Do more, then, you’ll grow stronger.” He shot back with little thought. “There is little risk, I’ll take what I can get. You will do as I say."

Rosemary’s mouth dropped open, stunned.

"Y-yes, sir...” She sighed anxiously.

Vegeta moved in closer to Zarbon, leaving Rosemary to do whatever she had to do to keep up this daunting new power of hers. 

With staggered breaths and the occasional wince of pain, she pressed on.

' _ Little risk?! _ Our lives are at stake here! ' she thought to herself to keep her thoughts busy, anxiously awaiting what was to come next. 'As much as I want to believe him, Vegeta's battle logic has always been impulsive and unpredictable… I must say, he’s developed an  _ unwavering _ lust for fighting over the years.’ She forced her eyes shut to fight off another painful thump to the side of her head. ‘Once this starts, it’s not stopping... I have to consider that I might not make it out of this safely.' 

She began to tremble, her body was starting to get annoyed with her for ignoring it’s signs to stop.

But,  _ she  _ insisted on continuing.

'...But  _ I'll  _ be powerful for once!’ She wishfully encouraged herself now, hoping to outlast the pain just a bit longer. ‘Yes, all those times Vegeta teased me because I wasn’t strong like him, I can finally show him that I  _ have  _ power!’

Concluding her thoughts, she hardened her stare on Zarbon even further.

Her forehead screamed in distress, causing her to flinch and curl up her knees in discomfort with a quiet yelp. 

Taking the chance to use her pain to his advantage, Zarbon attempted to wriggle around once again and finally managed to move somewhat freely again. He flexed his fingers in fascination, then shot Rosemary a firm look back.

This was shaping up to be quite the day, it seemed - it only took a fight to the death for Rosemary to finally give him a decent amount of attention, he wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of it or not just yet.

Rosemary cursed under her breath for breaking her grip, took a deep breath, and got ready to go at it again. 

After realizing he was free, Zarbon began to charge, but was frozen in place once again shortly after, followed up by a quiet whimper from Rosemary.

Vegeta’s eyes instinctively widened. He  _ knew _ that sound.

Rosemary was growing _weak._

‘What in the world is going on?!’ Zarbon questioned himself in anguish. "I've never had such...  _ inertia _ before!’

Vegeta looked over his shoulder to check on her before he dove in to attack. He wasn’t all that shocked to see that she was noticeably pale and looked somewhat ill, but she was  _ pushing  _ herself. Considering what he’d known for ages, that, to him, was  _ new _ .  _ That _ , to him, was the first indication of a new Saiyan warrior coming to surface, and he respected it.

"Keep going." Vegeta commanded. "I’m going in.”

“R-Right.” She acknowledged briefly, taking another deep breath in to prepare herself to endure the fight. She was convinced that Vegeta was giving her a cold shoulder to see what she could do.

Moments later, Vegeta let loose a barrage on Zarbon while stood frozen to the extent where only his extremities seemed to react. Taking a small retreat backwards, Vegeta observed him for a moment, still unable to tell what kind of energy or power was at play to force him into such a compromising state. He looked back to her again over his shoulder, to notice that Rosemary’s cold, hard stare on Zarbon remained fixed across her face, arms quivering and her breaths heavy enough to indicate that she was greatly struggling.

"How are you even  _ doing _ that?!" Vegeta called over to her.

"With patience and a _sharp_ focus." She told him through bared teeth, irritably fighting with her thoughts to remain focused. "Do not distract me, I’m at a point where I will lose control very easily!"

"What?! That's just-"

"Abnormally powerful, I know!" She snapped. "Well?!"

"Well  _ what _ ?" Vegeta asked. He’d be lying if he told himself he wasn’t enjoying this even a little.

"Are you going to keep attacking him or what?!" She growled through a whine, working even more to keep a hold on him. "My energy is  _ not  _ infinite!"

"Then let go!" Vegeta yelled back, accepting that she’d had enough. "I told you, I can deal with this myself!"

By the time Vegeta had finished his sentence, Rosemary had already let Zarbon go, now charging towards him with ridiculous speed. 

“Please __ finish him off… I've had more than my fair share of him over the years." She moaned tiredly as the two of them exchanged blows. "You have no __ idea how long I've wanted to do this! He's all yours now, I need to rest for a bit. This... _ really _ hurts.”

"Rest?!" Vegeta shouted bitterly, recklessly taking a jab to his jawline. "We’re in the middle of battle and you wish to  _ rest?! _ ”

"Please, Vegeta!” She yelled back with difficulty, “ _ Please,  _ just kill him before I faint!" 

She briefly stumbled over her own weight to maintain a decent position while hovering, with Vegeta still eagerly fighting away. 

"I will stay close," She went on with a heavy sigh. "Just please, take caution."

Without another thought, she fled from the scene to find some place to touch down and take some time to recuperate.

Her eyes absent-mindedly glossed over the open ocean below her for what felt like forever as her consciousness  faltered quickly. Unbearably restless, Rosemary reluctantly made the call that she’d flown far enough away to land safely despite wanting to travel further, descending towards a nearby island. 

She touched down as gently as she could manage, folding her legs in to carefully sit down and massaged her head. An odd euphoria overcame her senses as she worked her fingers up and down her temples, where she then decided to lay down in the long, Namekian blue grass. Her eyes sluggishly drooped shut, then laid down, tucking her arms behind her back to hold her head.

Somehow able to open her eyes a final time before she dozed off, she gazed up at the green sky, completely drained beyond any recent comparable occasion. 

'Hang in there, Vegeta…’ She told herself hopefully. “I’m so,  _ so _ glad I’ve found you, I’m finally free…'

She could tell that the two of them were still fighting away, not all that far from her, the loud booms of powerful hits and short spurts of aggravated wind still present in the air. 

'I promise I won't be long… But this is my limit for now, and I’m more than happy to call it at that.' 

Finished with the thought, she nodded off to sleep peacefully and undisturbed.

 

About twenty minutes into her nap, Rosemary began to dream uncontrollably. There, in the realm of her semi-conscience, she spotted Vegeta, lifelessly floating through something hazy and translucent. Was he… hovering? No, the surroundings were too cloudy for it to be air.

He gently descended towards the ground, bobbing around a couple of times before laying flat against the...sand? 

_Crap..._  this was  _ water _ .

He was unconsciously dwindling at the bottom of a lake, or possibly even an  _ ocean _ .

But where was Zarbon? The only person to be seen was a roughed up Saiyan Prince, covered in what looked to be blood-covered wounds. 

The dream honed in on Vegeta more closely now, he was definitely scratched up and bruised. Not a single pocket of air escaped him, which only meant that he was no longer breathing-

"No!" Rosemary suddenly gasped for air, shooting upwards from where she lay and immediately took off towards the fight in hopes that she would reach him in time. Vaguely recalling landmarks as she went, she found herself in the same area that the fight took place, but Zarbon nor Vegeta were present. 

Looking below, there was island almost directly underneath her, and she dove down to inspect it. Not even bothering to slow down, she held her arms out to hit the ground first, easing herself into a rally of flips and came to a halt with a tuck and roll. She paced the area in search for some body of water aside from the wide open ocean she’d flown across on her way here. She hadn’t remembered one being there before the fight had began, and yet, after a couple minutes of search, she came to the edge of a surprisingly well-shaped, no,  _ perfectly circular  _ small lake.

This lake was man-made.

She dove in immediately, efficiently swimming downwards to find Vegeta. While she may not have been necessarily powerful, agility and movement happened to compensate for what she lacked in strength, and she planned to use it for her original purpose - retrieval and aide.

Just like she’d seen in the dream, the floor of the lake became visible as she plunged deeper, and lying unconscious at the very bottom was Vegeta himself. 

She waded above him for a moment to plan how she would get him to the surface, knowing that she would have to swim back to the surface carefully. Water was a wonderful thing for this particular situation, had it been air, she likely wouldn’t have been able to carry him. 

Crouching beside him, she took care in scooping him up and struggled to position him over her shoulder, letting out a sizable portion of the remaining air in her system. She shifted him gently to keep her weight off of his chest, and finally content with herself she quickly swam back up to the surface with an arm over his back to secure Vegeta until they had made it to shore.

Finally reemerging, she rolled Vegeta onto the grass, lifting his feet out of the water and sprawled them out over the ground as she gave him a thorough inspection, taking note of all of his wounds and lesions.

He’d been injured pretty badly, so much for Zarbon being an easy contender. She took to his side and came to a kneel, starting with a gentle nudge him to see if it would be enough to wake him.

He wasn’t breathing in the dream, she’d be amazed if it were truly that simple.

She went on to get his vitals, firmly pressing her left ear onto his chest, desperate to get a pulse from anything that wanted to show itself.

Nothing.

She re-positioned herself higher onto his shoulder and adjusted the amount of pressure she gave, and after a dreadfully long second or two, she could pick up a gentle pulse from within him. 

She let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank  _ heavens _ .’

She brought her hands together and began to vigorously press on his chest as hard as she could in an attempt dislodge the water from his body.

'Okay, at least he's still alive…' She thought with a reduced concern, growing tired again as she continued to forcefully jab at him. 'Just some cuts and bruises here and there, his heart is still going… I can do this...'

She hoped she wouldn’t have to assist him in breathing.

She impatiently scrambled to take mental notes on how to care for him when he finally woke up.

"If it was me fighting Zarbon," She told Vegeta’s unconscious mass. "You would be  _ extremely _ lucky if I was still in one piece.” She shook her head with a tiny chuckle - he  _ never _ liked to say when he was wrong. 

“I don’t want to say that I told you so, but I made a good decision to run when I did. Thank goodness I have no power to trace, otherwise Zarbon would have found me with his Scouter."

As if to attest what she’d been saying, Vegeta coughed up a heap of water and began to take choppy but audible breaths, still asleep.

Rosemary’s brief chuckle turned into a few with a relaxed smile of satisfaction. She waited for some further sign of acknowledgement from him out of spite, but there was none. She finally reasoned that Vegeta was likely as drained as she was and let him rest.

"Let's get out of here, before Zarbon realizes that he didn't finish the job."

 

. . .

 

"Lord Frieza!" Zarbon hastily greeted the back of Frieza’s seat, bowing with a disappointed scowl after returning from his mission. "I have both good and bad news, sir."

"Don't waste your breath. It’s clear that Lady Rosemary has escaped." Frieza told him simply, drearily staring out of the massive, bubble-like window of the ship’s cockpit. "You must be heartbroken. She's powerless, anyways."

Zarbon looked off to the side for a moment, conflicted.

"Well, I beg to differ, sir." Zarbon reluctantly went on. "She does in fact have power, she’s been hiding it from us all this time." 

He paused to think of how to describe it. What exactly was it that she was doing to him, anyway? 

"Just not one that you would expect, well, from a Saiyan.”

"Oh. come now, Zarbon!" he teased with an obnoxious laugh. "I'm beginning to think that she's made you a tad delusional! What kind of power could she possibly possess to have you so shaken?!"

"She can- Well…" He trailed off to ponder further. " _ Manipulate _ things… But without  _ touching _ them." he trailed off, still trying to ignore the fact that she wasn’t tugging at his ankle out of frustration at the moment, suddenly wanting her even more. "It's like she can just look at you with the most  _ amazingly  _ fierce stare and you're completely paralyzed! It, truly, is  _ breathtaking _ ."

Frieza sighed, bored. Zarbon was beginning to sound like some overly excited fanboy now. 

"Interesting." Frieza remarked while pondering the idea doubtfully. "But if she couldn't do this before when we  _ forced _ her to during experiments, how is it that she can perform such abilities now?"

Zarbon didn’t have an answer for him this time. He shifted his gaze away from Frieza once more, and stayed quiet.

Frieza got up from his chair, turning to address him on more serious terms.

"Also, while you were away, a Scouter reported back that another village was wiped out about an hour ago, just before you must have encountered Vegeta, if my math is correct." Frieza continued as a matter of factly. "And, you know what was  _ odd _ about it? Unlike all of the other villages on this pathetic planet, there was no Dragon Ball there." 

He smugly tilted his head.

"Do you know who could have been responsible for that?"

Zarbon blinked hard.

"Um… Vegeta, perhaps?" Zarbon replied nervously.

"That's right." Frieza replied, his anger becoming more apparent. "So  if anyone were to know where that Dragon Ball is, who would it be?"

"V-Vegeta?" Zarbon answered again.

"Excellent, you have a head on your shoulders, after all." Frieza calmly responded back. "Now then, you said you had  _ good _ news?"

"W-Wait!" Zarbon urged. "Please, sir! I-It may be possible that I just left him knocked out!" he frantically begged, doubtful that Vegeta would still be alive since he’d just returned from leaving him at the bottom of a lake. "I can go fetch him!"

"Very well." Frieza sighed, unamused. "If he is not here within the next ten minutes, I will ensure that you meet the same fate as Dodoria!” he shouted angrily. " _ Go! _ "

 

. . .

 

Rosemary returned to the same island that she’d rested at previously, placing Vegeta down as carefully as she could muster in the grass, lowering her arms at a painfully slow rate as she gently set him down. She truly was pushing herself, trying to learn how to control the movement of a person’s entire body on the fly for just the second time, all the while still drained from the fight earlier on. 

With Vegeta finally brushing against the grass below them, satisfied, she knelt beside him to check his vitals to ensure he was still with her. She pressed an ear to his chest once more, to hear a much stronger, louder pulse coming from his heart. Contently backing off, she then placed a finger under his nostrils, to feel a warm but light breeze over her knuckles.

'Thank goodness, he’s stable now.' She noted, finally at ease.

"Hey!" she whispered harshly. "Vegeta! Hey come on, wake up!"

Vegeta moaned with a pained growl as he tried to sit up.

"Hey, take it easy," She warned, "You're hurt. I just retrieved you from the bottom of a lake, you must have had quite the fight."

"I'm  _ fine _ ." He snapped at her half-heartedly, recalling his consciousness fading as he had been sinking through water, assuming Rosemary had been telling the truth. He opened his eyes to see a familiar bright red stone on a hide rope hanging from her neck as she reached over him. "You… still have it?"

"Have what?" she asked him to clarify, following his gaze to see what he meant. Realizing what it was, thankful that he wasn’t looking slightly lower, she took the stone between her fingers, unaware that it had come loose from when she had tucked it inside of her armour. "Oh, you mean the jewel you gave me?" she confirmed, then smiled with a nod. "Of course I still have it, I still have the original chain, too, uh…" She let go of the stone gently and gestured down at her damaged chest plate. “ _ Hidden away _ . As requested, I’ve refused to part with them unless my life went as well. And that's then Frieza’s army came..."

"And destroyed our planet, yes, I remember." Vegeta finished bluntly, a touch of hatred in his tone. "And I still remember watching you scream in your sleep as you dreamt about it happening."

Rosemary’s focus slid away from him in shame. Of  _ course _ he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention such a detail.

"Yes, well," Rosemary replied, somewhat offended. "That dream just  _ happened _ to have come true… I also just had one about you drowning, and now we’re here." 

She let out a heavy exhale. 

"It’s not exactly something I ask for…” She looked back to him, hoping for a different expression on his face, but was left disappointed. "Anyways, we should have a proper rest to tend to our wounds. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out of that encounter safely, and I  _ definitely _ wasn’t sure if I’d be able to save you and get you to safety after the fact. I’m grateful, and quite honestly,  _ baffled _ , that I’ve managed both successfully."

Rosemary left Vegeta's side, limply walked over to a nearby rock, laid down and closed her eyes without another word. 

Vegeta watched her from where he sat and silently agreed that he needed to take a break. 

It’d been a while since he’d had to consider the words of someone else, for his own sake.

He pouted stubbornly, laid back down in the grass, and fell asleep.

 

As he drifted into a deeper state of rest, with recent events of encountering such a prevalent figure of his past, several memories came to fruition in his dreams.

The first of a which, a time where he was fifteen years old, waking suddenly in his bedchamber after a loud, painful cry from down the hall. 

He’d recognized the sound of the voice with ease.

"Rosemary!" He’d shot out of bed in a startle. "Something's wrong!"

A young Vegeta rushed to her room with haste in only the underlayer of his armour, the door already opened by someone else, to find his advisor in the middle of a fitful but unconscious episode. 

Afraid yet tempted to wake her to ease her torment, he crept over to her slowly.

"Don't wake her!" One of his nurses told him in a harsh whisper from a corner of the room. "She will have a breakdown!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Vegeta retorted angrily in a similar fashion.

Doused in sweat and panting for air, a young Rosemary jumped as she woke, and broke down to tears.

"Oh, that was awful…" she trailed off, noticing that she wasn't alone. “Oh, hello… I-I’m so sorry for waking you, Your Highness...”

"Rose, what happened?!" He’d asked, mortified. "You were going insane in your sleep!"

"I-It happens occasionally…" She’d explained with a cracked voice, shaken. Yes, her whole body trembled. "Not usually this often, though…"

"Miss Rosemary, are you truly alright?" The nurse asked her softly. “You certainly don’t look it.”

"Yes, ma’am, I should be fine now. Thank you for coming to check on me." Rosemary politely replied with a respectful bow of her tired head, looking over to Vegeta. "Forgive me, sir, I really didn't mean to scare you awake… It’s not good for you, especially."

"I don't care about sleep." He told her reassuringly. "You’re a Royal Advisor now, while recent to the job, your health is as important as your role.”

"Y-Yes, of course." Rosemary nodded. "I'm alright now. Thank you for your concern of my safety. Please, do get some rest." 

"Of course, Miss." The nurse replied. "I wish the same for you."

Next, roughly two years after that night and days before his eighteenth birthday, he’d sat at his bedside, staring down a familiar shiny red stone indecisively as it lay on a regal violet cushion at his end table.

"I want to, truly." He spoke out to the empty air of his quarters, consumed with the thought of a daunting task. "But when?"

He stared at it in silence for a little while longer, pondering some more.

"I cannot think of any other person who should have such a role." He continued in an attempt to persuade himself. He wasn’t used to thinking about such things.

There was a knock at the door.

"Your Highness?" A lady asked, peeking in through the crack in his doorway. "Miss Rosemary is outside to see you."

Vegeta stiffly shot upward, immediately having second thoughts.

'But, I haven't summoned her today, she’s off-duty…' He mused, now curious. 'She must have news or something.'

"Very well, I'll see to her in a moment." He called back in hesitation. He looked back over to the gemstone, took it off the pillow by it’s chain, and left his room with it in hand, incessantly rehearsing what he would say as he headed outside to meet Rosemary.

He’d stepped out into the courtyard, to receive a patiently waiting Rosemary, who’d sat on a bench of some rare substance he couldn’t bother to remember with her usual high degree of etiquette, her long white robes flowing slightly as the wind swept under them. 

She stood up to receive him, bowing respectively.

"Your Highn-  _ Vegeta _ , sorry," She began nervously. "I-I can't help but feel strange today." 

She bowed her head in what looked to be disappointment. 

"For a couple of months now, I can't help but think that something bad is going to happen, you know, because of the fits in my sleep lately. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something strangely ominous about today, and I’m concerned."

He sighed with a slight shake of his head. What a victim of worry, she was.

"Everything is fine, Rose." Vegeta calmly assured her, internally panicking as he got ready to take a leap he’d been planning for what felt like ages. "You're always so paranoid."

After a moment of hesitation, Rosemary crossed her arms, and frowned.

"Of all the times that I've been paranoid, sir," She began, slightly mad. "How many of those times have I had reason to be?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes to hide the truth in her words.

"That's not the point, Rose!" He snapped back. "If you would just  _ try _ to enjoy yourself a little," Vegeta tried to calmly redirect her thinking, attempting to cheer her up again. "Rather than worrying about what is going to happen, these incidents wouldn't happen as much. Remember what the doctor said, your anxiety is only going to make your sleep fits worse." He smirked, and raised an eyebrow. "You overthink everything, anyways, you could afford to lighten up. Understand?"

Rosemary blinked hard.

"Um, yes…" she answered, still not entirely convinced.

"Good." He replied finally. "Now then, I have something I wanted to talk to you about..." he uncomfortably trailed off. 'Here we go…' he thought, letting out a deep exhale.

His dream rewound a couple years back again, to a scene where Vegeta had brought Rosemary along to spectate a Saiyan union from atop a cliff for a lesson that day. Yes, at that point, she was being primed to become his Royal Advisor, he remembered subconsciously. 

Rosemary's eyes had been glued to the event down below and lit like the stars.

"Ah, they look so happy..." she sighed dreamily, gazing in awe. "I hope to have this feeling one day..."

Vegeta shrugged his shoulders from where he sat beside her, indifferent.

"It’s peculiar and something that’s not common in our culture to do. I could live without it." He brushed it off lightly. "Not like I have much of a choice, though, being a prince. Royal unions are complicated. Proposal is different and overly elaborate. I’m not looking forward to it if it ever happens."

Rosemary looked over at him.

"Proposal?" She asked, perplexed. "How different can it possibly be?"

"Well, as I was told by my father," Vegeta began, playfully holding up a finger to look like he was some kind of wise and intelligent instructor. "If the heir is a male, you know, like _ myself _ ,” He shrugged, nonchalant. “...then the current ruler would pass down the Jewel of Union as a form of approval, who then gives it to his desired mate as a proposal, as he did with my mother." 

Rosemary watched him with an eager stare, as if waiting to hear more. 

Her endless desire to learn was admirable, as always.

"And if I were female, if someone desired me as their mate, they are to gain approval from the current ruler first, where they are awarded the pendant instead."

"It is an interesting and presumably important process, surely it is to find a proper fit for the throne with some level of consideration and approval." Rosemary replied in wonder. "Being royalty seems to have a lot of these, well,  _ important  _ processes."

He laughed heartily. "No kidding."

"So, wait," She continued. "Do you know what this jewel looks like? I mean, your father has one he wears consistently, doesn't he?"

"I do not, and it’s not the same." Vegeta answered firmly. "My mother was the last to possess it, and I don't know what happened to it after she, uh…"

"It's alright, I understand." Rosemary hushed him. She probably knew what he’d been referring to at the time. "I just assume you have lots of jewels and stuff, your father being the first king of our planet and all."

He cheekily nodded his head from side-to-side in agreement.

"You’re not wrong." 

 

The next scene showed him and Rosemary finally going for  _ the walk _ through the palace corridors, chatting away aimlessly. He was trying to ease himself into serious conversation, and struggling greatly, leaving him awkward, humiliated, and almost unwilling to speak at all.

Until she’d gave him no choice.

"So, what is it that you wanted to tell me, Vegeta?" Rosemary asked him, conveniently catching him off-guard.

Vegeta tightly grasped the stone in his hand and froze as she uttered the words. 

'Come on, get it over with and just ask the damn question already! I can’t believe I’m actually doing this...' he angrily scolded himself.

"Well, you see, it's, uh, kind of personal…"

"I see.” Rosemary giggled, playfully leaning over towards him. "Well, as your Royal Advisor, it  _ is _ my duty to talk about things that affect you, after all, so you’ve got the right person.”

"Thanks for the confirmation.” Vegeta grumbled, still on edge. “It's important and I've been thinking a lot about it lately, Rose, I’m not sure how to express what it is I’m trying to say." he replied, jerking away from her gaze, embarrassed.

"Oh…" She straightened up to take up her post as if she were on-duty. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings… Please, continue.”

"Anyways," Vegeta went on after a deep breath, looking straight ahead as they continued to walk. "I've been thinking a lot about my future, and, well, it has to do with you, too."

"A-Alright." Rosemary replied, a noticeable splash of worry in her tone. “Have I done something wrong?”

"Not at all.” He answered dully. “In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. I… consider you a good friend, you and I both know I don’t have many of those…” 

He hardened his stare on the hall ahead in hopes to alleviate his aversion to the topic.

“Seeing as though you live at the palace anyways, and you’re now my advisor and I, well, _trust_ you... I’ve been hesitant but increasingly desiring to ask-"

He finally turned to her to finish, to find Rosemary's beaming eyes on him, burning with curiosity. He couldn't bear to take more than a second of it and quickly turned his head away, cursing under his breath and shaking his head in frustration.

"Your Highness, are you sure you’re alright?" She carefully nudged.

He fisted his hands. 

"Rosemary, as the heir to the throne, I-"

"Your Highness!" an Elite Guard called from a distance, running over to them in a panicked frenzy. “Please, this way! We’re under attack!"

Vegeta became tense with fear, and followed the guard without any further hesitation, almost thankful that it relieved the increasingly awkward tension. He dropped all substance of the conversation and prepared himself for combat, leaving Rosemary standing alone in the growing distance.

"Hey, wait for me!" Rosemary called over as she caught up quickly, then slowed down to stay beside Vegeta. 

Vegeta looked over to her, stressed and critically impatient.

"I don't have to wait for you, you're _faster_ than me!" He barked to her as the group of them ran down the corridor.

"Vegeta, I have a bad feeling…"

"That dream!" Vegeta remembered, yes, the original reason for summoning him while she went about her day off-duty. "What went on in it?!"

They barged into the throne room, to find the King, his father, lying unconscious on the floor in a puddle of blood. 

Rosemary took a harsh gasp and began to cry on the spot.

"T-That..." She whimpered through harsh sobbing.

"Father!" Vegeta screamed, rushing to his side. "No!"

Just then, a large squad of armoured men entered the room, as if on queue, to close them in.

Rosemary looked around her in fright, ran over to Vegeta and cowered behind him, unable to defend herself.

"Vegeta, watch out!" she told him hysterically as she covered his blind spot.

He knew she wasn’t going to be able to fight, she was entirely untrained. What she could do, however, was _ run _ . Yes, he should tell her to run away and flee to her room.

“ _ Rosemary, _ ” he urged quickly, when his throat seemed to force itself closed to render him speechless.

She looked to him in horror, ready to hear whatever he was about to say, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

Time was running thin.

Defeated, Vegeta took one of her hands, whipped the jewel out of his pocket and slapped it into her palm. Rosemary looked down to see what it was as she awaited further instruction, but was grabbed by a soldier from behind.

"Let-me-go-!" She flailed around to escape his grasp, tightly clutching the jewel in hand.

"Apologies, Miss." He replied smugly. “Orders, surely you understand.”

Rosemary growled in defeat.

_ "Vegeta!" _ She screeched to him helplessly through tears.

"Rosemary, listen to me!" he called back fiercely as he fought with a few other men. "Shit- Whatever you do, guard that with your life!"

He could tell from the occasional opportunity to see her that she’d squirmed her hand free to reveal the red stone inside, the gold chain glimmering as it bounced around from the stone’s secured hook. 

She’d looked back up to him, refusing to take her eyes off of him as she was lugged out of the room under a soldier’s arm.

He couldn’t tell if she’d managed to truly figure out the weight of what he’d just given her, or if she would ever decipher what he was trying to accomplish in doing so, for that matter.

It was at that moment that he’d accepted that he couldn’t save her and proceeded to unleash his anger on every remaining man standing around him until he’d lost all sense of himself.  
  
It was at that moment, that Vegeta shot out of his sleep.

  
  
****


	3. Lament

**_Chapter Three - Lament_ **

Vegeta shot up from his sleep with a startle. Hearing him from the distance, Rosemary curiously squinted an eye open, having been adequately rested from her nap.

'Was he dreaming? Guess I’m not the only one.' She watched, the sight of him behaving like a normal person left her refreshed. 'I just wish that  _ mine _  didn’t have such a habit of becoming reality.' She sighed, the guilt still weighing on her from past nights of fitful dreams. ‘I can't stay mad at him for mentioning it forever… It makes perfect sense for him to be angry, it’s too much of a coincidence that the two things happened to correlate, what are the odds…'

Both eyes finally open, she warmly approached Vegeta, who was still panting for air.

"Bad dream, I take it?" she asked politely, trying to stir some kind of small talk.

"Not all of it." Vegeta dryly answered. "Memories, mostly."

"I see." She responded back. "Well then, are you ready to relocate? It's hard to determine how long we've been sleeping, this planet doesn’t have a day and night."

"Move?" Vegeta clarified, still coming to. "Why?"

Rosemary crossed her arms in certainty, pensively looking out into the distance with a firm nod.

"I’m fairly confident that Zarbon will come back to see if you were truly taken care of." She explained, logical as always. "And judging by the fact that you aren’t in the same place that he left you, it’s a pretty good indicator that you’re not dead."

"Well, aren’t you on top of everything today." he teased as he took his time getting up, his body still aching from the fight he had been retrieved from.

"I assume you made me your Advisor for a reason.” Rosemary rebutted, grinning with pride. "Our lives are on the table here, and I’d prefer not to spend the _ one _ day I’m finally free fighting for it the entire time. Unlike you, I prefer to avoid fights." She finished with a playful wink.

"Whatever, let's go." Vegeta shot back and took to the air, with Rosemary following after.

 

…

 

Zarbon flew frantically, recalling landmarks to find Vegeta’s body where he left it,  knowing that he was tight for time.

"Why does everything look the same on this stupid planet?" he muttered, quickly growing impatient. "Plateau to the left, two islands beside it,  _ ugh _ ... This might be it."

Hoping he was right after four failures, he dove down and landed firmly on the ground, quickly scanning the area. He spotted a darker patch of grass, laced with blood.

"This is clearly where we fought, but why isn't he here?!" losing his cool even further as he crossed his arms in defeat. Then remembered Rosemary flying away halfway through the fight to flee. "She must have come back to retrieve him." He looked up to the sky, carefully eyeing the sky to trace the clouds that might indicate any flight paths through them "And if I  _did_ just leave him knocked out, then the two of them could be conscious and on the move by now." Unable to find any useful information in the sky, "Which means,” he sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I'm going to have to find them the hard way."

Reluctant to continue, he took off from the ground and began his search from the sky, the threat of death being a powerful motivator.

 

...

 

Vegeta flew as fast as he could, attempting to overtake Rosemary, but no matter how hard he tried, she always managed to speed up so he couldn't. Rosemary laughed heartily at the sight of him becoming increasingly angry as they went on, performing corkscrews and rolls through the air delightfully, liberated by the fresh experience of flying freely.

‘How is it possible that she has absolutely no strength but always outdoes me in speed on both the ground and in the air…’ he thought, jealous and confused. He grew more competitive by the second, trying to push himself to fly faster just to prove a point, but couldn’t quite match Rosemary’s adjustments to ensure he couldn’t get ahead.

"I hope one of those memories of yours was of the hundred times I've beaten you in a race!" she boasted cockily through some of the first genuine bits of laughter that she’d had in ages.

Vegeta ignored her, still trying to pass her, then dropped a few feet, wincing from a sharp pain in his chest, causing Rosemary to slow down immediately to stay back with him.

"Hey, take it easy." she sincerely scolded him "You're still in pain, you know! I haven’t forgotten!"

"Of course you haven’t." Vegeta brushed it off, crossing his arms to pout stubbornly as they continued to fly, still hurting. "Can you not sense how powerful I am? This is nothing,”

Rosemary tilted her body to face him slightly, intrigued by the concept.

"Sense your power? Well, no, we’ve always had scouters for that." She retorted as a matter of factly, pausing to think about it for a moment, then went on to ponder. “How does one do such a thing? I imagine it would have to do with your energy patterns, like how emotions resonate differently?” she looked at him blankly, hoping he would give some kind of insight, then felt an ominous aura creep in on her. “However, now that you mentioned it… I  _ do _  feel something, but I’m not sure if it’s your strength…"

Vegeta huffed heavily, annoyed by how quickly she seemed to be learning new skills. It couldn’t be his strength that she was sensing, she would be blown away if it was, but someone must be approaching them, no doubt in his mind.

"Not quite, but you’re onto something.” he admitted, then the energy hit him full force. 'Damn it, she wasn't joking…' he thought, alarmed.

"But that is definitely  _ something _ I’m feeling, right?" Rosemary questioned for clarity, tensing up in fear. "That huge something or other heading straight for us?!"

Vegeta looked down, checking the ground for a place to evade whoever it was that was approaching them, spotting an island with two mountains, immediately side by side.

"Down there!" he told her anxiously, pointing towards an opening between the mountains "There's a crevice! Hide!"

Rosemary nodded in agreement, then dove down at the island faster than Vegeta wished he had ever seen, before following. As Rosemary came closer to the ground, she didn't even bother slowing down.

'Let's see if I can still pull this off...' She thought, but held her arms out in front of her instead ‘Go in for a smooth angle…’ she played back in her head, allowing her hands to make contact with the ground, almost swinging off of the spots where she had planted her hands. She flipped a couple of times, calculating every bend that she made with her body as she could feel her momentum dying down. She finally kicked off to begin a double layout, twisting her body seamlessly to produce a perfect display, comfortably landing on her feet. She let out a deep exhale, satisfied. ‘Well that was exhilarating.’ she told herself, stretching, her abdomen somewhat stiff. ‘Definitely feeling it afterwards though.’

Vegeta watched in admiration as he landed not far behind her, impressed, but not surprised. Krillin and Gohan, who happened to be hiding at the location as well, ran out to see who had been coming. Gohan looked at Rosemary for a brief moment, remembering her from the Namekian village where they had rescued Dende, his face lit up with joy.

"Hey, you’re here!" Gohan cheered, looking over at Vegeta. "Did Vegeta help you get away?"

"Well, I broke free on my own, but he certainly helped us escape." She gladly explained, pleased that she can finally say that she has accomplished something worth noting, but remembered why she was there "More importantly, can you feel that energy coming our way?"

"Yeah." Krillin followed up. "Vegeta, is this something we can handle?"

'They know Vegeta…?' Rosemary thought suspiciously, she hardly knew them herself.

“If it means anything,” Rosemary went on “We tried to fight one of Frieza’s generals earlier. It didn’t really work out in our favour.”

"Does that mean you have powers, too?" Krillin asked, narrowing his eyes at Gohan "Told ya." He mumbled in Gohan’s ear.

"I do, but," Rosemary responded unconfidently, taking a calming breath, knowing that she would have to explain herself at some point to Vegeta anyways. "I don't have the experience to match them. Everything I have managed to achieve has been purely experimental and doesn’t have any kind of known success rate."

"That would explain why you didn't help us fight those guys while they were terrorizing the village." Krillin nodded his head, understanding too well the result of slacking off in training. “It could have went really badly.”

Rosemary nodded affirmatively to indicate he was correct.

"I haven't had enough practice to fully understand how my abilities work as of yet." She continued, shameful of herself. "I’ve only been in situations where it was ideal that I conceal them even if I have them. And when I use them, I don't last very long, in terms of a fight."

Vegeta let out a chuckle. "Yes, Rosemary won’t last even ten minutes in battle." he added coldly. "But her powers are strange, I will admit."

"Must be pretty strange if they impressed Vegeta." Gohan whispered to Krillin, inquisitively looking from Vegeta, over to Rosemary, who had noticed them talking secretively, along with Vegeta.

"Ha- _ ha _ , I heard that." Vegeta scoffed, crossing his arms in retaliation "And I've known her for decades, she's not new to me." He sulked, acknowledging that the kid was right to an extent. Rosemary’s abilities thrilled him secretly the more he observed her, and he eagerly wanted to see what she was capable of with some training.

"I am a Saiyan too, you see." Rosemary informed them, assuming they had known as much as their race, bowing respectively. "Forgive me, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Rosemary, formerly a Royal Advisor to the Saiyan Throne and an old friend of Prince Vegeta’s.” she blushed, it had been a while since she had so much attention on her, but managed a smile. “It really is a relief to know that I am not the only one here against Frieza’s fleet."

Krillin held up a finger, confused. "But wait," he began. "Isn't Vegeta fighting him, too?"

Rosemary nodded with a grateful smile towards Vegeta. Enamored, Vegeta fell off of his guard, leaving him awkwardly looking back at her, unsure of what to do with himself.

"Of course, but I only ran into him out of happenstance.” She answered shyly, Vegeta still keeping a dominant stance in the distance. "We're still getting used to each other again, it’s been a very long time since we’ve acquainted each other…"

Vegeta nodded quietly, agreeing with her, yet he could think of nothing to add. He felt a sharp jolt of energy immediately above them and looked up quickly, to find Zarbon peeping down on them cheekily.

"Yes, hello, indeed." Zarbon joined in from above, causing Rosemary and the others to snap their head upwards in horror.

'Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten so comfortable…' Rosemary thought dreadfully, her knees growing weak. 'Now what?!'

"Long time no see, my dear." Zarbon greeted Rosemary with charm, ignoring the rest of the group. Vegeta could feel his face growing hot in resentment. 

"We’ve already had this discussion, Zarbon.” She told him in disgust, trying to hold some level of ground on her own. "Several times. I’m not interested.”

"We probably have," Zarbon replied tauntingly with a wink. "I probably wasn't paying attention because I was too distracted to by your lovely, petite figure." He swooned over her devilishly.

'At least he can admit it.' Vegeta enviously scowled to himself, outraged, while Rosemary shuddered at Zarbon’s obsession over her despite of her endless pleading. In the end, she sighed, defeated.

'At least when I was chained to that horrible excuse of a general, I was constantly reminded that I was actually good-looking.' She thought half-heartedly, wishing that someday it would come from someone else.

As she thought about it, still irked beyond recognition, Vegeta had already taken the initiative to land a spiteful punch on Zarbon.

"I suppose I'm flattered, amongst other things." Rosemary finally managed to say, looking upwards at the two of them fighting.

"Oh my gosh, he's handsome!" a woman with blue hair sighed dreamily as she came out of nowhere, making Rosemary jump at the sound, caught off-guard for a split second.

"Who, Vegeta?" Rosemary asked her, immediately switching to a protective expression, ignoring the fact that she had no idea who this woman was. ‘Who are all these people?!’

"No,  _ no _ !" Bulma spat in disagreement. "The  _ other  _ guy…"

Rosemary sighed heavily in relief. ‘Oh thank  _ goodness. _ ’ she rejoiced in private ‘I couldn’t care less of this woman’s opinion, Vegeta isn’t this revolting man, so he’s got my vote.’ Rosemary paused for a moment, her thoughts taking a foul turn. 'Who would want to be with Zarbon, though?!' She shivered.

Zarbon and Vegeta landed a few feet apart, outside of the crevice where the four of them were standing.

'I really hope he doesn't get hurt this time!' Rosemary thought in suspense, now carefully monitoring the two of them fight. There was no clear dominating side to this battle, and she wasn’t pleased. 'Perhaps I should step in…' 

Vegeta and Zarbon suddenly repelled each other instantly, landing several feet away from each other. Zarbon laughed repulsively.

"I've been hiding another side of myself, you see." Zarbon enticingly edged on. "I never really liked to use this form, though, especially around Rosemary, it’s quite hideous. I don’t think she’d ever think of me the same afterwards."

"Well then, pretty yourself up because you’re not getting another chance.” Vegeta bluffed cleverly, making Rosemary stifle a heavy laugh, making him turn around, annoyed.

"What the hell is so funny?!" he shouted at her angrily, as she wiped a tear from her eye, unable to contain her hysterics.

"Forgive me!" she replied, still getting over herself slowly, blushing profusely. "But that was so cheeky, ahaha!" she looked back over to Zarbon, who was in the middle of his transformation, then looked away as parts of Zarbon’s body began to deform grossly. “Goodness, that took a turn.”

'I didn't say that to  _ encourage  _ him to transform…' Vegeta thought about it over, watching as Zarbon completed his transformation into an ugly, fat, repulsive looking lizard-like thing.

"We have to help him!" Gohan cried out in dismay.

"I will go." Rosemary told him valiantly. "I need some closure."

Vegeta stood there, stunned in disgust, while Zarbon took advantage of the situation by charging right at him.

"Not again, you won't!" Rosemary shouted, flaring her arms out in front of her to send more power into her thoughts, causing Zarbon to freeze in place.

"This just isn’t fair!" Zarbon growled angrily at the sudden turn of events. Vegeta snapped out of his disturbing trance, to find Rosemary approaching him steadily, with her arms out to the side of her as she walked towards him, her eyes throwing daggers at Zarbon ferociously. He ogled at her for a moment, taken aback by her bravery and diligence, and refocused on the task at hand.

"Guess I just saved you again, didn't I?" Rosemary teased, unaware of his daydreaming. “I think I’m seriously starting to get the hang of this.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her, completely turned off.

"I can take a hit without dying, you know." Vegeta shot back, all riled up, refusing to admit he needed help.

"I would rather the prince not beaten and scarred."

She made a slow lifting motion with her right arm, causing Zarbon to raise steadily off the ground. Content, Rosemary held her stance for a moment, then threw her arm down swiftly, resulting in Zarbon smashing harshly into the ground. Rosemary laughed some more.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" she giggled, giddy with gratification that her attempts actually worked. 

"How the-" Vegeta began, then stopped himself and shook his head. "I'm not even going to ask how that's possible."

"I'm not quite sure myself, really." Rosemary replied, still vibrating joyfully, making Vegeta angry and dumbfounded. "I've only had practice on small objects, never people."

The two of them watched as Zarbon struggled to get up, letting out a moan of pain as he regretfully took to his feet after putting on extra weight from his transformation. Snapping back to the fight quickly, Rosemary shot her arms back out to Zarbon to freeze him yet again, only to slow him down this time. Puzzled, she tried harder, only to get a stabbing pain in the side of her head. She winced and leapt out of the way as Zarbon approached her, with Vegeta taking over for her as he continued to fire off flurries of punches and kicks.

Krillin and Gohan watched from the opening of the crevice, amazed at the sight of Rosemary’s technique. Gohan shook his head in disbelief, pulling out every intellectual stop he had to figure it out.

"This… This is physically impossible!” he managed to say hesitantly.

"For years, flying was, too." Krillin defended. "Yet here we are."

Gohan rolled his eyes, admitting defeat. Rosemary looked over at Vegeta proudly.

"Vegeta! Can you please finish him off?" she asked through a yelp, tired and hurt. "I am growing weary again…"

'With pleasure, Rose.' Vegeta thought triumphantly as he shoved his fist through Zarbon's chest and fired a blast right through him. Rosemary let go of Zarbon finally and looked away, so she wouldn't see Zarbon's internal organs spew everywhere.

“Like the outside of him wasn't bad enough…” Rosemary moaned aghast, then peeked over at Vegeta, who was now tossing him into the ocean at the edge of the island, then fell to the ground helplessly. She could feel something stab through her forehead, sitting down and placing her left hand on it to rub it gently, with the other hand on the ground for support as she leaned against it. She closed her eyes out of exhaustion, hoping the pain would dissipate a bit, but it didn't. She breathed heavily to cope.

"Are you alright, Rosemary?" Gohan asked her, her skin looking ghostly white in that moment. "You don't look so good."

"I don't feel so good either…" Rosemary whined painfully. "It is because my powers do not… depend on my physical strength like yours do," she explained in between breaths. "They rely on my mental capacity." She continued to rub her head soothingly. "I am not physically strong at all, just ask Vegeta."

They all looked over to Vegeta, who was now approaching the group of them, somewhat protective of Rosemary as he noticed her suffering at his expense.

"Yes, Rosemary was always known for her speed and agility, never her strength." Vegeta told them solemnly as he took post beside her, arms crossed. "She can run and fly with ease but the moment she attempts to do a push-up, she can't do it."

"Wait a minute." Gohan thought out loud, thinking about all the books he had read for school. "If you can't even handle your own weight, how is it that you can control others, who are bigger than you, without even touching them?!"

"The logistics behind it is unreal, I understand." Rosemary agreed with him uncomfortably, shifting herself slightly on the ground. "Somehow I am able to convert the chemical energy from my brain to potential energy through heavy concentration, then kinetic energy, which makes things move." She slowly sat up straight, confident she was feeling well enough to have a normal conversation. "I've spent many years moving only small objects without tiring at all. But moving an actual person is very mentally intensive… In terms of inertia, it would make sense, but it is not the same as physical strength, by any means."

Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin all stared down in acknowledgement, with only Gohan understanding more than half of what she was talking about.

"What doesn't make sense to me," Vegeta replied, bewildered by her knowledge. "Is how you managed to get this power in the first place. This is new."

Rosemary bowed her head in shame, unable to think of anything worth explaining, but failed and shook her head instead. 

"I wish I had an answer to that, I really do." Rosemary answered sadly. "The only way I can explain what I know is if I tell the whole story." She sighed "Back when I was in Frieza’s captivity,  _ they _ ," she sneered emphatically "would perform tests on me. Operations, psychology tests, physiology, the whole like. You know, to see if I had any potential as a fighter, since it's in our nature to be hungry for battle. From what I'm aware of, since they never deployed me for missions, nothing came up."

"That's absurd!" Vegeta shouted, flustered with fury. He lowered his head heavily, knowing that Rosemary had no fault in any of what she was explaining, but refused to accept how Frieza’s men treated her "There's no way that there were no results. You don't just probe around inside of someone and nothing happens."

"I don't know…" Rosemary trailed off, humiliated. She wanted nothing more than to be excited about what she could do, but Vegeta’s anger was making it difficult to overlook how seemingly impossible her newfound power really was. "Anyway. There was one day, where I was really angry for some reason I can't remember, so the guards put me back in my cell to calm down. I was looking right at the keys that were hanging on the wall, I was so desperate to escape, I was absolutely livid. I wanted nothing more than to rip the bars apart and run away." She shook her head, clueless. "I still can't explain it, but my anger seemed to be enough to shake the keys off of the hook and knock them onto the floor. Unfortunately, after that, I was so shocked that I lost my train of thought."

"That's nuts!" Krillin remarked, amazed.

"I know, and I can’t believe it." Rosemary agreed simply, trying not to attract too much attention. "But instead of questioning how it's possible, I use these powers to my advantage, despite having a limit. It’s difficult, coming from a family of science, I expect a logical answer for any and everything."

"And the only way to become stronger is to push past your limit!" Vegeta told her, encouraging her in his own sort of way. "Giving up before that does not make you more powerful." He crossed his arms, triumphant in an argument against her for once. "Call me cruel all you wish. You are full of energy, put it to proper use." he continued proudly, hoping to create a spark within her. "Your alertness was, and still is, an admirable trait of yours." He turned his back to her dramatically. “But you need to be tenacious. None of this taking a nap after a couple of good attempts.” 

"Of course, and thank you, I understand and agree with you entirely.” Rosemary managed a smile, doing a round of looks amongst the group of them. “My mental capacity is huge, as you could probably tell. The fact that it takes a huge amount of energy to use my powers isn’t something I can control at the moment, and quite simply, I lack the knowledge to use it efficiently right now.”

"That’s enough of that." Vegeta snapped conclusively, snagging a large orange orb from inside the crevice. "We've wasted enough time here. Let's go, I have other things I need to take care of."

"Y-yes, my prince…" Rosemary responded obediently, getting up to brush herself off and following him off of the island. She looked back over her shoulder and waved back to Gohan and Krillin and a small smile.

 

...

 

"WHAT?!" Frieza boomed at his mean in shock. "How is Zarbon, my finest soldier, dead?!"

"It was the girl, sir!" one of the men, a lizard-looking soldier reported obediently. "She assisted Vegeta in eradicating him!"

"Rosemary…" he told himself vengefully. "I underestimated you, after all." he folded his arms neatly while shaking his head, impressed but put off by the loss of one of his generals. "Well then, I guess I have to start taking her seriously now, don't I?” 

"Anything else, sir?" another mean, more of a bear-looking creature asked nervously.

"Yes," Frieza replied simply, turned around in his chair swiftly, and incinerated them with a quick energy beam. "You can die for bringing this awful news to me."

 

...

 

Vegeta led Rosemary to a deserted Namekian village, similar to the one she had watched be decimated earlier on. As Rosemary landed carefully after him, Vegeta jumped into a lake nearby. As he resurfaced, Rosemary waited patiently above on the shore.

"Stay here." He commanded her simply, then dove underwater after she gave him a firm nod of acknowledgement, looking around for a Dragon Ball that he had put there before he had found her. He scanned the bottom of the lake for a few seconds, then spotted the Four-Starred Dragon Ball.

'Ah, there it is, good.' He thought, finally back in a decent mood, placing the newly acquired ball beside the other one. After finishing with his plan, Vegeta swam back up to the surface. Rosemary was now sitting in the grass, facing the edge of the water, ignoring the fact that Vegeta had come back up from the lake. He climbed out of the water quickly, shook himself off briefly, then went back over to her, watching her hair ripple with light as the sun's rays danced across the water. As much as Rosemary was aware that he was approaching her, she showed no sign, mainly because she was still tired from the fight with Zarbon. Upset that she couldn't be of more help in the fight with Zarbon earlier. Vegeta could sense her exhaustion clearly, sighed in disappointment, and crossed his arms again, knowing that he wasn't well equipped to be comforting someone. 

"Rosemary, you need to rest." Vegeta told her obviously.

"I know I do." She replied to him, drained, not even bothering to face him. "I… just want to be something other than a weakling to you." She paused to yawn inconspicuously. "If I rest, I'm weak, and if I don't rest, I'll faint. I can't win in this current state, Vegeta."

Vegeta exhaled heavily, knowing he wanted to just ignore her powers for a while and just reconnect, but the situation was too dire for small talk.

"I'm still trying to accept that you’re real.” he told her simply. Rosemary didn't really believe him at first.

"I’m trying to figure myself out, too. I’ve been in captivity for more than half of my life, I haven’t had the time to sit down and discover myself as I would have liked." She countered back, her tone growing sharper "I assure you that I haven't been successful." She got up to face him, looking up at him with agonizing focus that he couldn't look away from. "Aside from myself, of course, you've changed, too, Vegeta. Everything is new to me again, all the way down to just flying on my own."

'Damn it, not this stare.' he thought woefully, awestruck by her matured but familiar, intense glare.

"Time does that." He responded. She nodded quietly in agreement and walked away from him. Vegeta followed her, hoping to talk to her some more.

"Rose…" he tried to gain her interest again miserably.

"I understand, Vegeta." She told him through tired breaths. "I'm not who I used to be. The thing is, with my new powers, I thought you would like me more." She stopped at the doorway of a Namekian hut. "But I will still rest. Because you are still the prince, and because you told me to."

Once she concluded her short speech to him, she went inside and found a decently sized bed, then crawled into it. Sleep came instantly.

Vegeta stayed outside, alone with his thoughts, frustrated at himself for making Rosemary upset with him. He didn’t think it was possible for her to be truly sad, he couldn’t count enough times to fill a hand where she had been depressed or miserable. Anxious, all the time, but he had always known the root of her distress.

'I’ve become resilient to most things that are thrown at me,' he told himself, trying to think through what he wanted to say to Rosemary. 'I can't live in the past. Regardless of the fact that she’s free again, I still have things to do here and I can't let her distract me from them, as it could mean death for the both of us if I'm not careful.' he walked back to the edge of the water, gazing down at it for a brief moment, then looked back at the hut, barely able to sense Rosemary at all, concluding that she was already asleep. 'She won't sleep for long if I know her well enough.' He continued his thoughts, planning his next move. 'So if I leave her here, she can guard the Dragon Balls.'

Without another thought, Vegeta took off to continue his search for the remaining Dragon Balls scattered across the planet and leaving Rosemary to fend for herself.

  
  



	4. Recovery

**_Chapter Four - Recovery_**  
  
Still in the crevice where the fight had taken place earlier that day, Bulma, Gohan and Krillin were catching some time to relax in their camp, gossiping about Rosemary’s sudden involvement and how she would be adapting to everyone now that she was reunited with Vegeta.

"I feel bad for her, actually." Gohan spoke out against a statement that Bulma had previously put out, "She must not have seen him for a  _ really  _ long time, she didn’t seem to really know how to deal with him being mean, even if that is his normal nowadays.”

"Maybe," Krillin brushed the thought off lightly. "He's probably excited for her, getting stronger and all that, but he’s got a weird way of showing it." He shrugged his shoulders. "She’ll get it eventually. I bet they’ll talk it out at some point.”

"Do you think he's still on the lookout for the Dragon Balls now that she’s involved?" Gohan asked.

Bulma chuckled.

" _ I _ bet he is," she told him with conviction. "He took  _ ours _ . I bet he ditched __ Rosemary to go looking for them himself! That’s why he showed up here, after all, I doubt he’d drop his mission because she showed up, even if she’s his best friend."

'She deserves better than that, though.' Gohan took to this thoughts sadly. ‘Vegeta’s always proved he’s only out for himself, though…’ He wondered if Vegeta was still planning to wish for immortality with the Dragon Balls like he claimed on Earth during their first encounter. If he wanted to be the strongest Saiyan, why didn’t he just wish for his home planet to be back? The idea seemed somewhat harmless now that he had considered it, but he still worried about what would happen if Vegeta got the wish that he wanted. ‘There’s a handful of people chasing after the Dragon Balls now, I don’t think we can stop them from having at least one of the Dragon Balls at any given time…’ he paused, realizing that it wouldn’t take much at all to prevent everyone from getting their dangerous wishes.

"Guys, I just thought of something!" Gohan told the two of them, both Krillin and Bulma’s eyes now hopefully attentive. "Frieza and __ Vegeta are both after the Dragon Balls, right?"

They both nodded.

"So…" Gohan continued, holding up a finger as a matter of factly "What if we just found one and hid it away? Neither of them can summon the dragon!" 

Krillin crossed his arms, unconvinced. Bulma continued to stare blankly at Gohan, unsure of the idea herself.

"I see where you're going with this, but," Krillin countered "How can we guarantee that we don't run into either of them along the way? That also kinda stops us from doing what we need to, doesn’t it?”

Gohan put his head down to think, tilted it from side to side as he became increasingly unsure if they could avoid everyone entirely, gritting his teeth indecisively “I don’t think we have much of a choice." 

Bulma whipped out her Dragon Radar to see how easy it would be to carry out what Gohan was suggesting. Pressing a button on the top of the stopwatch-looking device, the radar began to beep rhythmically, a small yellow dot appearing just outside of the center of it’s grid-lined screen. Delighted, Bulma perked up happily.

"Yeah, but look, guys!" Bulma told them, pointing to the Dragon Radar. "The radar is picking up one of the Dragon Balls nearby! We’d just have to snag it before they do, then we'll be set!"

Gohan and Krillin shot each other an intense look.

"Well, let's go get it, I guess." Krillin replied, trying to enthuse himself about the plan. 

"I'll go," Gohan told them surely. "I'm the one they'll least expect to be looking for something like the Dragon Balls."

Bulma patted Gohan on the head, ruffling his hair to lighten him up.

"Just be careful, Gohan." Bulma warned him with a motherly tone, handing him the radar. “Your mom would kill me if we didn’t make it back.”

"I'll try."

 

. . .

 

Sound asleep in the deserted village, Rosemary dreamt peacefully for the first time in ages. A younger form of herself was intensely running as fast as she could through the wastelands of Planet Vegeta. She pushed hard, trying to beat her best time, keeping a close eye on a digital stopwatch as she dashed. Not paying attention to where she was going, she caught a glimpse of someone up ahead at the last second, leaping to the side instantly so she wouldn't hit him, followed by a series of basic flips and twists. She landed perfectly, catching her breath as she regained control of her mind.

"Whoa!" a young boy in regal armour shouted in awe. "That was impressive. How... did you do that? I doubt you’re in the army."

She looked over at him blankly, crossing her arms as she took an exhale of relief.

"Please be more careful!" she pleaded frantically, scanning him to make sure he was alright. "I almost hit you just then!"

The young boy raised an eyebrow, ignoring her concern.

"Just who are you, anyways?" he asked authoritatively. He hadn’t recognized her at all from his usual travels around the area. She blinked blankly back at him, slightly intimidated by the tone in his voice.

"I’m Rosemary," she introduced herself kindly, following up with a polite bow. "What about you?"

"Vegeta," he replied proudly. "Prince of the Saiyans and heir to the royal throne."

Rosemary's eyes widened in shock, immediately bowing continuously in shame.

"My goodness!" she gasped in disgust with herself. "Please forgive me, Your Highness!" she begged. "I-I didn't know!"

Vegeta chuckled coolly. “Alright, that’s enough of that. I wouldn't expect you to, being out here." He suspiciously tilted his head. "Why haven't I seen you before?" he gradually paced around her. "I patrol the kingdom all the time."

Rosemary spun her foot in the dirt. She wasn’t expecting this kind of encounter today at all.

"Well, hmm, how do I explain this... I don't have an actual  _ home _ , you see…"

Vegeta’s glare hardened on her. Her cool growing thin, Rosemary took another deep breath.

"I live here, in the wastelands, by myself."

"By yourself?" Vegeta repeated.

"My parents, well, they left." She told him sadly, her cheerful expression fading "My mom hasn’t really ever been around, but my dad… He went on a mission, and he never came back after.” She placed her hands in her lap calmly. “But don’t be concerned for me, Your Highness, he prepared me for the off-chance that it would happen, so I’m perfectly able to take care of myself."

"Forgive me if I came across as oppressive, then." he replied respectfully. “I have to know this stuff, it’s my job.”

"It's okay," Rosemary assured him brightly with a warm smile. "I wouldn't expect you to know, we just met!" she giggled, raising a playful eyebrow in return. "But if you're the prince, then why are you all the way out here in the wastelands? This isn't a place for royalty, I imagine."

"My father sent me here to train." Vegeta explained dully, then pouted.

"Train?"

"I'm of the Upper Saiyan Class." Vegeta continued proudly, puffing out his chest. "I'm an Elite Warrior, you see. I must train my fighting skills." He grinned. "You know, with that speed of yours, I bet you could be, too."

"Me?" Rosemary repeated anxiously, pointing at herself. "I don't know… I'm not strong at all."

"Nonsense!" he shot back. "If you can do flips and stuff, then you must have  _ some _ strength."

Rosemary sighed.

"Not really, actually…" Rosemary disagreed hesitantly, trying not to come across as rude. "I can only do them if I'm at a high speed." She explained intellectually. "I depend on the momentum to carry me along, you know?" She pointed at the ground. "If I tried to do a flip on the spot, I'd probably fall over or something, I'm kinda heavy…"

"Oh…" Vegeta acknowledged politely, nodding his head slowly as he struggled to process the barrage of information she had just given him.

"It's science!" Rosemary continued on. "The speed of an object can change the amount of force needed to make an object keep moving. That’s how momentum works."

"So what you're saying," Vegeta jumped in, near frustration as she kept tossing more theory at him "Is that because you we running so fast, you don't need to put as much strength into those flips?"

Rosemary smiled, nodding happily.

"Yes, that's right!"

"You know, you're quite clever." Vegeta commented. "I don't think about fighting like you do about flips and stuff." He tilted his head again. "How old are you, anyways?"

"I will be ten in two weeks." She answered obediently. Vegeta's eyes widened at the sound.

"Interesting," Vegeta remarked with a grin. "I’m about a week ahead of you."

Rosemary giggled.

"Wow! What day?"

"Two." Vegeta told her in amusement. "You?"

"Four!" She thought for a moment. "Which means I'm only nine days younger than you!"

"Weird, how this happens." Vegeta admitted, bewildered. "We just met, we're the same age, and our birthdays are only nine days apart, what odds.”

"It's just a coincidence." Rosemary laughed it off cheekily.

"That's the word.” Vegeta laughed along with her merrily "Can you read minds with that brain of yours too?"

Rosemary laughed at the thought, blushing.

"I wish! I could do many things if I could." she looked up at the sky, it’s uninteresting red hue growing deeper by the minute. “Hey, it looks like it's getting late. Maybe you ought to head back to the palace, I bet you have a big supper waiting for you!"

"Yeah." Vegeta agreed regretfully, then had an idea "Hey, I know!" he extended a hand out to her "Come with me. I bet you could make good use of a big meal."

Rosemary froze on the spot. Was the prince really asking her to go to the palace? Was she dreaming?

"Oh, I don't know…" she thought cautiously, twirling her foot in the dirt again "I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion…"

"Such things can be fixed." Vegeta firmly assured her. "Do you have any idea the things I can get my hands on?"

Rosemary sighed, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"I don't know, Your Highness…" she went on "I don't think the King would approve…"

"If you say so." Vegeta gave in. "You seem smart, so I'll leave this one up to you for now." He assertively held up a finger. "But you’re making an appearance on your birthday." he told her strongly, turning around to fly away. "Got it?"

"I'll try!" she answered him as he took off.

"You  _ will _ ! That’s an order!" he corrected her with a confident grin, far away from her now.

"For a prince, he's kind of a nice guy." She mumbled in disbelief.

 

. . .

 

Gohan looked at the Dragon Radar again to check how close he was getting to the Dragon Ball, a number four blinking in the dead center of the grid. Gohan looked directly below him, to find an empty Namekian village below, with a lake in the middle of a large cluster of small homes.

"It must be at this village somewhere." he concluded, descending with caution. He surveyed the ground as he approached the ground slowly, making sure that no one was nearby to catch him as he snuck around. As he landed, he picked up a faint energy source from somewhere nearby, it’s gentle presence hardly noticeable but familiar.  'Could it be Rosemary?' Gohan thought cautiously, feeling around some more for it. Able to pick it up a little better now, he followed the delicate pulse, tiptoeing to the nearest hut then peered inside. At the far end of the room, Rosemary's head poked out from under a blanket on a stone bed, a tiny smile managing to keep its hold on her face. He exhaled in relief. 'Thank goodness, of all people I end up finding, it’s her, and she's sleeping.' He hid his power level carefully as he crept on by. 'But if she's here, then that must mean the ball that's here was the one that Vegeta took from us earlier...'

The Dragon Radar beeped loudly, causing Gohan to clap his hand over immediately to mask the sound, hoping not to wake Rosemary. He ran back to check on her quickly, to find that she remained unfazed in bed, continuing to nap comfortably.

'I need to find the Dragon Ball before she wakes up…' he thought quickly, then rushfully dashed away from the hut. 'Oh man… When Vegeta finds out it's gone, Rosemary is going to be in for a shout from him…'

His first instinct was to check the lake nearby, so he scurried over and dove under the water quickly and scanned the area for the Dragon Ball. Sure enough, the four-starred Dragon Ball was glistening in the refraction of the sun's rays, sitting at the bottom of the lake on a patch of sand. With a quick grin, Gohan swam down and snagged it. Touching down on the floor of the lake, he rocketed himself out of the water and into the sky. 

From inside the hut, Rosemary gently stirred in her sleep, moaning dreamily. She returned to laying still, unbothered. While she slept, Rosemary's dream transformed steadily. In the new scene, Krillin, Gohan, Rosemary, Vegeta, and a couple other blurs were all fighting against Frieza. The ones she remembered as Krillin and Gohan were beaten brutally and bruised, and Vegeta looked a bit damaged as well. It took her a second to see herself, lying on the ground, tired and ready to faint if she hadn't already. Another man that she couldn’t recognize stood before the group of them untouched, his clothes were different, but perfectly intact. It looked that he and Frieza seemed to be talking, but Rosemary couldn't figure out what the two of them were saying. Just then, Frieza shrewdly pointed out a finger in Vegeta's direction, and a narrow beam of light cleanly pierced through his chest-

"No!" Rosemary shouted as she was scared awake yet again, a few stray but damp hairs dangling in front of her face "I must not let that happen!" she panted for air, dripping with sweat. "I've come too far to fail now!"

She leapt out of bed, remembering that Vegeta had placed something at the bottom of the lake before she went to sleep. She anxiously ran over to check if it or Vegeta was still there.

"Vegeta?" she called out half-heartedly, but there was no response. "He probably went for a flight or something to take his mind off things, I didn’t really leave him in a good mood before I took a nap..." She assured herself, trying to remain calm, now approaching the edge of the water. “Okay, focus, Rosemary.” Taking a quick breath, she dove under the water skillfully, making only a small ripple in the water as she hit the surface. She swam downwards, recalling the bright orange object that Vegeta had tossed down some time ago. The water was so clear, to her surprise, but the orb was nowhere to be found. She stood at the bottom of the lake as the realization had sank in, growing more and more afraid by the second. Her breath growing short, she reluctantly swam back up to the surface and assessed the situation at hand.

'What am I going to tell him...' she thought, scared for when Vegeta would return. 'When he finds out it’s gone, I'm going to be in for it, I’m sure…’ She took a moment to consider how the ball could have been stolen in such a short time, treading along the water with ease. ‘I… I don’t think we were followed? If it were Frieza, I probably wouldn’t be alive at the moment, it’s not like him to leave the village intact… But who else cares about these things?!’

Her thoughts shifted to Vegeta, questioning if losing the Dragon Ball would affect her relationship with him, already expecting him to be quite frustrated. Taking it from the other group of people she had just met not too long ago, she knew that he hasn’t been able to hold on to this one for very long at all, only for it to slip away from him because of her. Now that she was free, she wanted nothing more than to get back to the things used to be, whatever that was, now that their planet was gone. She still didn’t understand the significance of these Dragon Balls, but prayed that losing one wouldn’t be enough to make Vegeta angry enough to leave her. She went back over the fight he had with Zarbon earlier, still awestruck and thrilled about how powerful he had become. He was far stronger now than she could remember, and it was incredibly noticeable, not just when he fought but in his increasingly muscular build as well. Indulging herself with the idea of having to be carried if she had fainted earlier, she imagined his thick, bulky arms around her protectively. Now blushing foolishly, she shook her head to get back to the real issue, frustrated with herself for being so easily sidetracked by such absurd desires at a time like this. 

‘He didn’t tell me to guard it, though! How would I be able to guard something when Frieza and his whole army is afoot?! Surely, he knew that! ' she breathed heavily to calm herself down, her face hot and her heart rate climbing as more anxiety took its course through her 'Alright, I just need to relax, and face my fate when the time comes, how bad could it possibly be…'

She gazed down at the water's surface, which showed her reflection vividly as the water lay still across the lake once again.

'In the meantime,' she continued, thinking about the soothing feeling of water she had felt as she swam just moments ago. 'I suppose I could clean myself up a bit.'

She cupped handfuls of water and splashed them on her face with pleasure, then stopped to look around the area briefly, spotting a bush with bright pink flowers, smirking coyly.

'Those look promising…' she thought cunningly, plucking a few buds and petals to spread evenly in the water. She inhaled enthusiastically to try and catch a scent, to pick up only a faint, sweet floral note. Nonetheless, she was satisfied, it was certainly better than nothing.

Rosemary dove under the water to wet her hair, running her fingers through it so it absorbed the oils from the flowers, then swam back up to the surface of the water. She sighed dreamily, reminiscent of her days of luxury back at the Royal Palace.

'Oh, how I miss the different soaps at the palace…' she recalled hopelessly, slicking her hair behind her ears. 'And the scalding hot water… I guess this is all I can do for now.'

Concluding her thoughts, she got out of the water carefully, hoping not to get any dirt from the ground back onto her. She sat along the edge of the shore to inspect her armour, to find that there were several rips and tears in the fabric that enclosed her legs and waist.

She shook her head in shame.

'This, truly, is  _ unacceptable _ ,' she thought in disgrace of herself. 'I'm surprised that even Zarbon let me get this bad…'

She noticed a loose thread on a small tear around her knee. 

'I wonder…'

She focused heavily on the small green thread of the fabric, then made small weaving motions in her mind, followed by her fingers responsively. As a result, the thread began to move shakily, then found itself stuck as it made contact against the rest of her clothing. After a few more persistent attempts of trying to push the thread through the fabric, it maneuvered itself in and out of the small pores where the tear had been made, forming a small but inconspicuous seam. She took the remaining length of thread into her hand, pulled it tight, making the two edges of the tear come together as a perfect stitch. She nodded her head slowly, content with the final product.

"Well," she laughed lightly, proud of the progress she was making with her skills. "I guess you learn something new every day." She told herself triumphantly, then continued to look for more rips and scratches to fix with excitement. Able to find numerous other tears, she weaved various threads and loose ends that she managed to find until her clothes looked seemingly perfect. The activity was surprisingly meditative for her, she never knew how calming something trivial like clothing repair could be. She stood up to look herself over once more, to find nothing left for her to fix.

'I feel much nicer now.' She thought confidently with a quick nod. 'Definitely more presentable.'

She aimlessly looked around for something to do, then laid back down in the oddly blue grass to let her thoughts wander pointlessly out of boredom, trying to clean her mind of all the stress she had encountered since she woke up.

'I wonder where Vegeta went…' she thought, staring up at the equally odd green sky. 

'What an odd planet. Blue grass, green sky, four suns but no moons, my gosh, it doesn't get much stranger than this…'

Just as Rosemary found herself on the verge of dozing off yet again, Vegeta had touched back down on the island near her, making her get up, well rested, out of the grass to meet with him casually.

"I was wondering when you would decide to come back." She joked half-heartedly.

Vegeta looked at her briefly, noticing that she had picked up some new clothes, no,  _ fixed  _ her old clothes.

"You've tailored your armour." He pointed out, slightly impressed, walking towards the water as soon as he could. 

"I did." Rosemary agreed with a half-hearted smile. "I don’t like the idea of being all torn up in front of the Prince." She told him, watching him as he now stood at the edge of the lake, then jumped in. 'Oh no, here it comes…' she thought, anticipating his anger in fright.

Vegeta dove under to look for the Dragon Balls, expecting them to be safe, but couldn’t find it anywhere. He scanned the lake floor thoroughly out of desperation, hoping the current had just moved them around, only for the result to stay the same. Furious, he shot back up to the surface, and landed heavily right in front of Rosemary, his arms immediately.

"I’m sure I’m going to regret asking, but how long were you sleeping for?!" he asked her angrily, making her dreadfully take a step back.

She shook her head in guilt.

"I told you already," she replied calmly, maintaining a reasonable amount of control over her words despite her body quaking in fear. "I can't predict time lapse on a planet that has no change in horizon. The… Dragon Ball, was it? It was taken while I was asleep.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. 

"You saw me take the Dragon Ball from the kid and his friends! And for  _ your _ information,” he growled. “There was another one in the lake when we got here! We need to keep track of them!"

"Well, you never  _ told _ me to guard them!" she retorted heatedly with a huff. "Besides, I wouldn’t stand a chance against anything on this planet! What importance do these silly things have anyways? All I know is that Frieza is after them, too."

"There are seven of them in total," Vegeta sighed in disappointment, knowing it wasn’t her fault that the ball was gone, but his own. "If you bring them all together, a dragon is supposed to emerge from them and grant any wish you please."

"That... just sounds like a silly myth to me." Rosemary mumbled, wishing she had been more powerful so she could actually be of use to him. “Like an old story you hear from a book or something.”

"Well, it's true," Vegeta sharply shot back. "And there are only a select few that are aware of it." He took a moment to play out his travels in his mind, remembering that he briefly passed Gohan and didn’t think much of it. 

'Wait a minute, the kid…' he told himself, remembering he had a some watch-resembling device in his hand as he flew. ‘It must have been some kind of locator for the Dragon Balls!'

Rosemary tilted her head as she watched his expression shift from frustration to deep thought.

"Please, Vegeta," she spoke out to catch his attention. "Talk to me... I want to help, truly, I do."

"Alright, fine." Vegeta snapped aimlessly, his irritation reappearing. "Do you happen to know if that kid or the small bald man __ showed up here?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Rosemary shook her head in disappointment.

"Not that I know of." She answered truthfully. "Of course, possibly while-”

"While you were  _ sleeping _ ?!" he finished her sentence impatiently. "That does not help at all!"

"Well I'm sorry!" she apologized sarcastically, her gaze hardening into a more serious glare. "But if I'm of no help to you, then why do you insist that I follow you, or furthermore, expect me to guard something when we both know that I can’t?"

Vegeta hesitated for a split second to respond, feeling like he just ran into a thick pane of glass, with Rosemary on the other side, staring at him with her fiercest heart-piercing stare of death. 

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" he stuttered carefully, noticing that she was clearly offended by the intensity in her face. She even dared to cross her arms like he did, her eyes unwavering from his. He wasn’t getting away from this, she was serious.

"If you didn't mean it," Rosemary continued. "Then why did you say it?" she finally turned her glare away from him in defiance, her back now facing him. "I can't read minds, Vegeta."

"You seem to every other __ time..." He mumbled to himself impulsively, upsetting her even more.

"Perhaps it is just a coincidence." Rosemary sneered, recalling her recent dream, then came back to the present. "To a certain extent, your expression makes you rather predictable at times."

Realizing her intentions, the same memory clicked in Vegeta's memory as well, but he tried hard not to let it show to prove a point. He turned around to assist in this even further, yet he was still unsuccessful, as Rosemary was as aware as ever that her words were effective. She continued to face away from him, her hands neatly joined together behind her back.

"If you're so concerned about these Dragon Balls," Rosemary continued, more composed than before. "We could be finding them instead of arguing here, you know... I know we aren’t necessarily in a time of luxury at the moment, but I know that you have some sense of urgency."

‘You know, you’re absolutely right.’

Vegeta blasted upwards from where he stood to not waste any more time on worthless bantering, leaving Rosemary in the dust, still on the ground, who was staring up at him, her harsh gaze now fixated on the sky as he flew away.

"I'm actually thinking of just staying here." She told herself rebelliously, still agitated by his temper. She thought about the conversation briefly, concluding that it was partially her own fault for aggravating him further and she should have just went along with things. "But then again, he needs some form of intelligence to help him, other than his battle tactics, that is."

Finally making up her mind, she launched herself into the sky effortlessly in an effort to catch up with Vegeta silently.

 

. . .

 

"That kid is going to get it!" Vegeta growled through gritted teeth, with Rosemary just managing to catch up with him flying by his side. "How dare __ he steal from  _ me _ ?!"

'He definitely still has his temper…' Rosemary thought sourly 'That's always a good sign considering what we’re about to get ourselves into…'

Just then, she saw a small figure in the distance.

"Look, Vegeta!" she told him, pointing up ahead. "Somebody is over there!"

"Yes." Vegeta replied coldly. "Go figure, it’s not who I am looking for."

As the two of them flew on, they concluded that the man in the air was Krillin, all by himself.

Rosemary managed a chuckle. She just couldn’t win with him today.

"Well," she joked lightly, clearing the air a bit. "I'm sure if you provoked him enough, he’d let slip where the boy is." 

Vegeta glanced over at her in surprise at her attitude, now chuckling as well.

"So, you  _ are  _ good for something." Vegeta teased her sarcastically. "It looks like Frieza must have rubbed off on you a bit in captivity."

Rosemary narrowed her gaze on him, unamused.

"Thanks." she snickered, rolling her eyes.

"I'll do it." Vegeta went on. "It would seem they have grown fond __ of you." He stopped mid-flight, throwing an arm out to his side to protectively keep her from passing him. "Stay here."

"I suppose it's the least I can do." She responded obediently with a shrug, stopping behind him. She curled up and crossed her legs in the air to make herself comfortable.

From the distance, Krillin saw Vegeta and Rosemary together and froze. 

'Great…' he thought nervously. 'Looks like Vegeta found out.'

"You!" Vegeta called to Krillin oppressively, flaring a pointed finger in his direction. "Where is that impudent kid?!"

Krillin looked over Vegeta’s shoulder to see Rosemary, surprisingly relaxed and waving awkwardly behind Vegeta, watching him with a firm gaze. 'Rosemary probably got the blunt end of it...'

"Gohan isn't with me!" Krillin blurted out, throwing his hands up to surrender. "He's at the Grand Elder's place!"

"Is he now?" Vegeta edged him on furiously. ‘No shit, General Obvious.’

"Well, then, where is  _ that _ ? I think I'll go pay him a visit!"

Krillin quivered. ‘Darn it…’

"That's his tower just over there," Krillin explained, pointing towards a strange pillar that broke through the clouds with ease. "I just came from there."

"Good, time to go pay him a beating!"

Rosemary shot a glance at Vegeta from behind at the sound of a possible fight, eyeballing Krillin as Vegeta blasted away, following him skeptically.

'I'm sorry, Krillin,' Rosemary confessed. 'You have to know better than to get on Vegeta's bad side…' she gave him a thumbs up and a small smile as she passed him.

'Do what you have to, Rosemary.' Krillin replied to her unknowingly 'I know you’re just trying to get your best friend back. No hard feelings.'

Minutes later, Vegeta and Rosemary touched down at Lord Guru's tower, to find a largely built Namekian by the name of Nail on guard.

"What do you want, short man?" Nail asked Vegeta, sensing the evil aura within him. Rosemary cowered back slightly.

'Now he's done it…' she thought nervously. ‘That’s one of Vegeta’s big red buttons.’

"I would watch it, if I were you." Vegeta threatened cockily. "My height has nothing to do with what I can do to you."

"Ha!" Nail laughed at Vegeta's efforts. "The girl is even shorter than you, I don't see what you're so concerned about."

Rosemary crossed her arms at Nail's taunt, a hip out to one side, unsure as to how she got dragged into this but was frustrated enough to barge in.

"Yes, well," Rosemary retorted, dramatically passing Vegeta. Shocked, Vegeta watched her cautiously as she advanced on the Namekian. "I can freely admit that I am on the smaller scale, but you don't see us judging you by  _ your  _ appearance, now, do you,  _ green _ man?"

Nail's eyes widened at her temper, Vegeta just as stunned, the both of them remaining silent. From inside the tower, Gohan had heard Rosemary's voice outside, then rushed outside to meet her.

"Rosemary, you're here, too!" Gohan cheered happily then noticed Vegeta, his smile vanishing in an instant, Rosemary now frightened by the look in Vegeta's eyes.

"I am…" she trailed off in discomfort. ‘Gohan, you would run if you knew what was best for you right now!’

"Ah, just who I was looking for!" Vegeta joked sadistically as he approached Gohan, making Gohan cower back slowly.

Rosemary flinched due to a sharp pang in her senses.

"Vegeta, wait!" she snapped at him hastily, trying to focus on the energy she had felt some more. "What in the world _ is _ this?! Do you  _ feel  _ that?!" she zoned on it even further. ‘So this must be what Vegeta meant by sensing power… This is insane!’

"There are five immense power levels approaching the planet," Lord Guru, a huge Namekian from inside the tower boomed around them.

"No…" Vegeta began, cutting himself off to think quickly. ‘How the hell did she learn to sense energy so damn quickly?!’

"It has to be them, Vegeta, there’s no one else it could be." Rosemary spoke out, just as scared. "The Ginyu Force."

"I know who they are!" Vegeta snapped at her, reacting brashly out of fear, then was taken aback. "Wait a minute, you know them?!"

Rosemary nodded her head in shame.

"Unfortunately, yes." She sighed shamefully, looking away for a moment or two. "I had the displeasure of working with them fairly frequently, mainly as a useless sparring partner as a part of my testing. I got this," 

She turned around to show Vegeta her back after pulling her long hair aside, which was surprisingly exposed by her armour. As her black locks moved out of the way, a huge slash shaped scar from the back of her neck down past where the armour had allowed Vegeta to see had revealed itself. Vegeta stared at it in horror, wanting to reach out and touch it instinctively. 

"…as a gift from Jeice. I nearly died that day." She explained to him solemnly. "This was about seven years ago, though, so it's had time to heal over and scar, obviously."

"I guess we both underestimated this girl." Nail told Vegeta firmly, Vegeta ignoring the comment. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Rosemary’s scar, trying to imagine how severe her wound must have been, all the while trying not to blush as he looked at her bare, pearly skin.

"Looks can be deceiving, can't they?" Rosemary retorted firmly as she turned back around, letting her hair fall in front of her back. "But enough about me, we need to stay away from the Ginyus!"

"Pity," Vegeta remarked cockily, back on topic now that he couldn’t look at her scar anymore. "I was planning on doing the opposite." he bragged, taking off instantly, leaving Rosemary behind yet again.

Right before Rosemary had taken off to follow him, Lord Guru caught her attention from inside, sending a sharp sense of energy her way.

"Wait, young one," Guru told her from inside the tower. "Come inside, please."

"Who is that who keeps talking to us…" she asked Nail curiously, who then led her inside, respecting his master's orders, revealing a large, overly bloated old creature of his kind, apparently too large to move from his throne. Rosemary stared, bewildered for a second or two, then bowing respectively.

"I accept your courtesy, young one," Guru boomed on. "There is royal influence upon you."

"You know this?" she asked him in wonder. "Interesting."

"I know many things." Guru told her mystically. "I also know that there is a unique power within you," he continued on "One that your friend may possibly never grasp completely."

"Figures." Rosemary muttered sadly and lowered her head.

"You spend much effort trying to gain his approval out of compassion, yes?" Guru went on. Amazed that he could read her so easily, Rosemary continued to listen in shame, silently nodding her head in response.

"You possess the potential to turn the tables of fate, young one." Guru told her monotonously. "Allow me to release it."

Rosemary snapped her head upwards.

"You can do such thing?" she asked in disbelief.

"I can." Guru answered firmly. "Come."

Rosemary hesitantly approached him, the massive Namekian man reaching out a hand. Now within his reach, he placed it upon her tiny head, and focused intensely to pull out all of the hidden secrets from within her core. After releasing an immense amount of energy and light, the man retracted his hand shakily. Looking up after the weight of his massive fingers had been lifted, Rosemary looked at herself briefly, feeling no difference or noticeable change in herself.

"Forgive me for asking, sir," Rosemary spoke out in uncertainty, hoping she wasn’t being out of line for doing so. "But did it work? I don't feel any different than before…"

"Your talents will take time to present themselves," Guru responded calmly. "They differ from the common physical power, no amount of strength will suffice."

'Well, I already knew that…' she thought to herself bluntly.

"Continue your efforts towards regaining your friendships. They will aid you later.”

"That is reassuring, sir." Rosemary acknowledged him kindly. "It appears to be the opposite at the moment."

"The one you hold closest is struggling to come to terms within himself. Now, go back to him quickly, young one. He won’t win this battle on his own."

"Thank you, sir!" Rosemary replied gratefully, bowing with honour. She looked over at Gohan, who had joined the two of them with Nail, nodded her head, then took off immediately, with Gohan not far behind her.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Reunion

Chapter Five - Reunion

At the main ship, Frieza regally emerged from the front of the ship to welcome a new group of fighters that had travelled to see him to do his bidding, the one and only Ginyu Force. He had no doubt that this group of men was overkill for this particular mission, but he wanted to be done with the Saiyans once and for all, and couldn’t be bothered to deal with them himself.

"Lord Frieza," a tall purple thing with black horns spoke out proudly as Frieza approached him, stepping out from the group and took a bow. "It is an honour to be at your service once again."

"The pleasure is mine, Captain Ginyu." Frieza replied as he made his way to the foot of the ship’s loading ramp. "Now then, you have the Scouters I asked you to bring?"

Ginyu looked over his shoulder towards his men, gesturing for them to come forward.

"Right ‘ere, sir!" a shorter, slimmer red creature with white hair down to his waist joined in, walking over to Ginyu’s side to hand Frieza a black case. He opened it to present six brand new Scouters, all polished, shined and ready for use. "They’re updated and ready to go with the features you requested, sir."

Ginyu gave him a silent nod of thanks.

"Very good." Frieza acknowledged, bowing his head appreciatively, taking one of them and fastened it on his face. "Now, for your assignment. This planet something called 'Dragon Balls', these orange orb looking things… They all have red stars in them, each ball has a different number. I wish to have all seven, but in the process of getting them, I have lost both of my greatest fighters due to the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta and some of his comrades."

A lanky blue lizard-like thing laughed from amongst the group, looking over to the red man, who had been snickering to himself as well.

"Little Vegeta?" he asked doubtfully. “He took out General Zarbon? Are we talking about the same person here?”

The red man let out a haughty sigh.

"I’m not too surprised, ya know, your general’s had issues with being full of himself." he joined in, tossing his hair over his shoulder. "Speaking of Prince Vegeta, where’s Miss Rosie these days? Zarbon was getting awfully close to her despite being such an... _egomaniac_."

As much as he wanted to agree with him, Frieza shook his head in annoyance and rolled his eyes.

"She was with Zarbon when he was taken out, so she escaped. Word has it she has some strange powers that even my most valuable scientists were unable to detect." Frieza explained, shrugging dramatically. He was starting to get rather annoyed that such a useless woman was getting so much attention. There was nothing special about her, other than how weak she was, among his group of soldiers.

"Welp, there goes your date, Jeice." The blue creature teased the red man, jokingly nudging him with his arm. "Guess she found her prince again."

Jeice gave the blue man a swift kick in the leg irritably.

"Piss off, would ya, Burter?" Jeice retorted, lifting an arm up to his face, ready to punch him if he kept going "She was a decent gal! It coulda worked out!"

"Now, boys, settle down." The purple man stepped in, restraining the two of them with ease as Jeice continued to growl and grunt. "You can fight it out later, as soon as we find these Dragon Ball things."

The two of them shot up obediently, and bowed apologetically.

"Yes, Captain!" the group of them shouted.

 

. . .

 

"Hmph!" Vegeta shouted triumphantly, tossing another Dragon Ball into a pile that he had stashed away on his own in another corner of the planet.

‘How did I manage to get myself into this, not even a year ago I was trying to kill these people.’

Unsatisfied with how his plan had been coming together, Vegeta shook his head as he stared down at the pile, the Dragon Balls gleaming brightly back up at him. He had worked so hard to keep his other five Dragon Balls hidden away. Rosemary and the kid proved to be a deadly combo to reason with, and against his own wishes, he soon found himself regrouped with the humans as they fetched for the remaining Dragon Ball with the help of the kid’s strange device.

"With my five, this makes six! Quick, hand over the last one."

Vegeta turned around to see Rosemary promptly touching down behind him, with Krillin and Gohan following close behind her. Gohan protectively clutched the last Dragon Ball, causing Vegeta to grow impatient. He narrowed his eyes in distrust, earnestly cocking an eyebrow as he stared the boy down even further.

"That's it!" Vegeta rasped. "Come on now, we don’t have all day!” he crossed his arms brashly as Gohan refused to move. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts after all that running around, you’ll kill us all!"

Narrowing his eyes back at Vegeta suspiciously, Gohan still wondered how much he could trust him given his history on Earth. He chose to keep his distance with the ball, looking over to Krillin in hesitation.

Confused, Rosemary’s eyes jumped between Vegeta and the others rapidly.

‘Why are they resisting all of a sudden, we agreed to work together! Do they have any idea what kind of situation we’re in?!’ she studied the group of them awkwardly. From the distance, she spotted a red and a blue blur approach them among a group of others at a staggering speed, leaping over to Vegeta as soon as she could. Choosing not to get involved with his conflict with Gohan, she pointed the group out to Vegeta silently. She stepped behind Vegeta in fright, unable to take her eyes off of the familiar faces of men she hoped she never had to see again. Growing more alarmed the closer they became, Rosemary began to gravely fear for her safety. 'You've got to be joking… I just got Zarbon off my case and now these guys show up.’

“Dammit, not now, I was so _close_.” Vegeta muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Rosemary’s legs trembled beneath her. She was beginning to regret her decision of escaping from Zarbon, knowing it would be a close call to get away from the Ginyu Force alive.

"Stay behind me, if you know what’s best for you." Vegeta sharply commanded her through gritted teeth, whipping out an arm to push her back. “Do your best to stay out of this, would you?”

“I can’t say I have the luxury of sitting this one out, unfortunately.” she retorted sarcastically.

With Jeice being the first to approach them, The Ginyu Force set down at the edge of the island. Jeice gave the group before him a look over, and noticed Rosemary being held back protectively by the prince. It was a pleasure to see her again, she had matured even further since they crossed paths last.

He gave her a wide grin, causing Rosemary to back away from Vegeta in displeasure of being singled out, concluding that there was a good chance he’d go after her first.

“Would you look at that,” Captain Ginyu commented, enthusiastically looking behind Vegeta to find a conveniently placed cluster of all the Dragon Balls. “You managed to wrap them up all nice and pretty for us! I suppose I should thank you!”

Vegeta growled tensely.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself, Ginyu, I’m not lying on the ground yet.” he shot back.

A tiny green man shuffled his way through his comrades and scurried towards Vegeta in excitement. He’d been waiting for this moment since the team had received the call, and he wanted Vegeta all to himself to seek out revenge for many years of mockery.

“Oh _yeah_ , tough guy?” he arrogantly taunted through some smug snickering. “Frieza’s not here to bail you out this time! Oh, yes, I’m looking forward to this.”

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow angrily.

“You think I need Frieza to kick your ass?” Vegeta retaliated with a grin. “You’ll always be a freak to me.”

“Argh! Why you-”

“Now, Guldo,” Ginyu interrupted. “We need Vegeta _alive_ , remember?”

“You can all go to hell if you think I’m going anywhere without a fight!” Vegeta shouted at them, grabbing one of the Dragon Balls from the pile and lobbing it away as hard as he could. “Damn you all!”

Watching the ball fly off into the distance, Burter shot up from where he stood to chase after it confidently. Eyeing the back of his head briefly as he snagged the ball and returned with ease, Rosemary sighed.

‘Vegeta’s starting to slip, he should have known that Burter would be able to retrieve the ball easily with his speed…’ she thought miserably. She looked over to Gohan and Krillin to find them in a state of disarray, as if they’ve never seen something that fast before. ‘I guess this means that we’ve got less of a chance of winning this than I thought.’

With Burter regrouping with his comrades, the Dragon Ball in hand, the whole Ginyu Force broke out into hysterical laughter.

“Nice try, Veggie!” a huge, burly man teased. “Burter’s too quick for ya!”

“I have to admit, Vegeta,” Rosemary commented in humiliation. “That was a bit of a rookie mistake.”

Vegeta shot her a vicious look over his shoulder.

“Just whose side are you on?!” he snapped.

Rosemary grimaced.

“It’s not my fault you just decided to play catch with arguably the fastest person in the universe!”

“Aha!” Ginyu joined in, laughing joyously. “Oh, wonderful! You’ve remembered so much, Rosemary! Now then, you wouldn’t mind handing over the rest of the Dragon Balls, would you, Vegeta?” Ginyu chuckled, outstretching a hand with a sly smirk. “We have to report back to Frieza at some point.”

Vegeta began to sweat slightly, knowing that he couldn’t stall the Ginyus for much longer. He needed to think of something quickly if he wanted to get out of this encounter alive.

‘I need to get the Dragon Balls away from here, it may be our best course of action to smash them at this point.’ He briefly recalled throwing them across an ocean earlier before he came across Rosemary, they were durable enough not to have any scratches or markings on them afterwards, but he hadn’t given them his full strength. Perhaps it would be easier to smash them, instead.

Vegeta whipped around Rosemary in a hurry, causing her to stiffen up on the spot, snatching one of the Dragon Balls from the pile. He tossed it over to Krillin and Gohan as fast as he could to make better use of them. Krillin caught the ball with ease, staring over to Vegeta in confusion.

“Quick, destroy it!” he commanded urgently. With an unchallenging nod, Krillin, raised a fist over his head to smash the Dragon Ball, only for the ball to disappear from his hold as he brought the other hand down to break it. Krillin and Gohan stared down at his empty hands in fright, clueless as to where it could have went.

Rosemary blinked a few times as well, observing closely. Her perception was above par for the most part compared to others, but she hadn’t seen anyone nor the ball move an inch. Something about this was new and unusual, and she didn’t like it.

Guldo chuckled as he lightly tossed the Dragon Ball in his hand with pride. “Looking for this, hmm?”

Rosemary’s gaze moved over towards him in confusion, seeing the ball hop up and down in his fingers questionably. ‘What is this… Guldo doesn’t have any abilities, he’s just a good fighter! What is going on?’

Vegeta narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“So, it’s true then.” he remarked dully. Rosemary turned towards his backside once again, expecting him to explain himself, but instead listened as the Ginyu Force continued to laugh and snicker arrogantly.

“This... is new to me,” she admitted, perturbed. “Perhaps it’s because I’ve been shut away in a general’s quarters for quite some time, feel free to fill me in.”

Both Vegeta and Jeice shuddered at the idea of Zarbon keeping her to himself, confining her to his bedroom for his pleasure. Vegeta frantically dismissed the thought as best he could, he had more important things to worry about than his long desired mate being stolen from him.

“Perhaps.” Vegeta managed to say without displaying any kind of struggle. “At first, I questioned how credible the rumour was,” Vegeta told her, looking over his shoulder. “But word has it that Guldo can freeze specific moments in time.”

Rosemary’s eyes widened in disbelief.

‘Freeze time? Not even the finest scientists in the universe have discovered how to manipulate time, and now Vegeta says that Guldo, of all people, can do it?’ she balled her hands together into fists. She was at her wits end, and the odds just kept piling against her, it seemed.

“That’s absurd.” she responded simply. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Heh, Lady Genius isn’t buyin’ it, you hear?” the massive human-looking man known as Recoombe called over to her. “Can we get to fightin’ already?”

“Yes, we’ve got what we came here for.” Ginyu followed. “I’ll take Vegeta, the rest of you can decide who takes who on.”

Guldo pouted.

“ _Aagh_ , but I wanted Vegeta!” he whined. “Can’t you let me have him? I’ve waited so long for this, Captain!”

Ginyu grunted in annoyance.

“Fine, you take Vegeta.” he sneered. “Don’t come crying to me when you can’t kill him.”

Jeice crossed his arms, a cheeky grin of excitement escaping his mouth.

“My eyes are on a different prize, you can have ‘im.” Jeice commented, already making his way over to Rosemary alluringly.

Vegeta backed up closer to Rosemary, ready to defend her. Something in the back of mind was going insane, he didn’t enjoy Rosemary getting this much attention from the others at all. He hadn’t been much for jealousy, but there was a first for everything.

"Hey, babe." Jeice taunted her, extending an arm with swagger while keeping his distance from Vegeta, who had tensed up as he slowly slid immediately in front of Rosemary. "Nice seein’ you again. You’re as fine as ever, especially away from Zarbon if ya know what I mean.”

Vegeta shot Rosemary a hateful glare, livid that Jeice was openly flirting with her in front of him. Rosemary shot Vegeta a stern look as she stepped out from behind him, hoping he hadn’t gotten the wrong idea. Given his angry expression, however, she could tell that he was losing his mind over something.

‘Would you just stay put!’ Vegeta screamed in his mind, outraged. ‘What the hell has she been up to this entire time?! She’s got the entire upper rank fawning over her!’

"I wish I could say the same." Rosemary boldly replied, all hot and bothered.

All fired up, Jeice phased away into the air as Rosemary spoke, reappearing behind her a split second later. Catching him out of the corner of her eye, she dashed to the side swiftly, preventing him from grabbing a hold of her as he dove in for his first attempt. Slightly impressed, he vanished again and tried a few more times as she continued to dodge him in annoyance, leaping sporadically around the area to shake him off. After chasing her around amusingly with lustful determination, he finally managed to snag her and pin her arms behind her back, causing Rosemary to squirm manically to break free. Her heart raced rapidly as she angrily kicked and flailed around, aware that Jeice was far stronger than her and that her life was in jeopardy.

Jeice cackled in satisfaction, perversely tracing a finger down her back along her slash-shaped scar. Feeling every inch of his loathsome member slither down her back, Rosemary quivered. Able to feel her fear, Jeice bent in towards her left ear and giggled lewdly, the feeling of his breath on the back of her neck leaving her extremely uncomfortable.

“Good times, huh?” he playfully whispered to her.

Rosemary let out a short whimper. She’d been made humiliatingly vulnerable when she least desired it - right in front of Vegeta. He had been watching miserably as she continued to struggle, but chose to leave her be for the sake of her dignity, opting to observe the confrontation carefully. He expected Rosemary to find a way out of it soon enough, she was surprising him more and more as they worked together, it’d be a shame if she let him down now.

Rosemary wormed around a bit further, her hands and lower half of her body now being strangled by one of Jeice’s brawny arms as the other tickled and groped her further. ‘Well this is just great.’ she thought to herself annoyingly. ‘I have one last thing to try.’

"You’re still a creep, you know that?” Rosemary muttered through gritted teeth, quickly throwing her head back to smash his face in. The bridge of his nose now fiercely burning with pain, Jeice instinctively brought his hands up to his face to cover it, allowing her to break free of his hold. She gave him quick kick to the side of his head to follow up, then hopped back over to Vegeta and the others, increasing her guard.

Vegeta gave a quick nod of approval towards her, content that she had managed to pull through after all. She was improving at a rapid pace, but he wondered how long it would be before she began to plateau for the first time. He hoped that time wouldn’t come during this fight, he needed her to be as strong as she could be, whatever that was.

The rest of the Ginyu Force observed Jeice struggling in shock, blinking and mumbling amongst themselves cluelessly. With more effort than he should have had to give, Burter only barely managed to follow Rosemary’s path as she efficiently dashed around.

"What the hell was _that_?!" Burter called over to Jeice angrily. He was supposed to be the fastest fighter in the universe, and now Rosemary, this weak girl was matching pace with him?

"For someone who doesn’t enjoy it much," Vegeta teased Rosemary as she regrouped with him. "You seem to be the center of attention, what’s up with that?"

Rosemary clutched at her chest irritably, catching her breath. Dozens of sickening memories were rapidly firing off in her head, leaving her increasingly anxious and scared about what was to come once the rest of the Ginyu Force got involved. She could still feel precisely where Jeice had touched her just then, her back tingling with nervous tension. Unamused by Vegeta’s attempt of a joke, she gave a short laugh to acknowledge him half-heartedly.

"I don’t want to talk about it right now, and you’re not helping the cause." she snapped back. "We’re at a point where it’s anyone’s game, it’s the least of my worries. I’ll live.”

"Geez, Jeice, you’re too _slow_ for this, quit fooling around." Guldo moaned as he finally stepped away from his allies. “Let me deal with this.”

While everyone was bantering amongst each other, Ginyu scooped up the Dragon Balls and began to make his way to the edge of the island to take off. Noticing him sneakily slip away from the group, Gohan quickly managed to fire off a blast of energy towards him as he took to the air.

Vegeta whipped around immediately.

“Stop!” Vegeta shouted. “Ginyu’s gone, you need to reserve your energy.” he waved a hand to the kid and Krillin to come closer quietly. Rosemary followed suit and got close. “Listen, unless Guldo goes for Rosemary first, which is unlikely, it looks like you two will fight him.”

Krillin and Gohan nodded attentively.

“Close combat won’t work, you’ll need to use your heads for this one.” he crossed his arms tensely, giving Rosemary a quick glance. “Personally, I think this would be more up your alley, Rosemary, but you’re too inconsistent at the moment for me to task you with something like this.”

“Understandable.” she replied simply. “I’ll act as support.”

“Good. I’m sure I shouldn’t ask, but,” Vegeta went on, turning to Gohan reluctantly. “What are the chances your father is on his way, kid?”

Rosemary gave Vegeta a suspicious look.

‘He knows this boy’s father? What does he have to do with any of this?’

“Funny you mention that,” Gohan responded in a low tone. “He’s on his way and should be here soon.” he crossed his arms snidely. “I don’t know about you, but he’s coming to help Krillin and I.”

Vegeta grunted.

“As if I care about that right now!” he sneered. “I’m just saying that he’d be of good help to us right about now!”

Guldo approached the group of them impatiently.

“Are we gonna do this or what?” he taunted. “I haven’t got all day!”

Rosemary gave everyone a quick but stern look.

"I‘m going to keep a close eye on this fight. Something isn’t right about Guldo’s abilities, they’re almost too good to be true.”

Vegeta gave her a nod of approval.

“I expected no less from you. Pick your brain as much as you want.”

“Right.” she confirmed. She gave him Vegeta a quick nudge with her elbow to try and lighten the mood. “You know, you’re a pretty good motivator when you want to be. I like it.”

Blushing slightly, Vegeta turned away from her to hide his face. Damn, he liked that compliment far more than he should have.

“Y-Yes, well, we need it right now.” he retorted defensively. “Just… pay attention.”

Watching as Gohan and Krillin advanced forward, she began to rack her mind of everything she could think of when it came to her history with Guldo.

‘Probably the most prominent thing about him is that he had an ongoing hatred for Vegeta for quite some time…’, she investigated. Her deep focus had evoked countless instances of being the subject of curses and accusations because of her affiliation with the prince. ‘How can the runt of the Ginyu Force suddenly have such an astonishing ability… How does such a power even present itself?!’

Watching now as Gohan and Krillin took to the sky for an aerial assault, she at put her hands on her hips, perplexed. She wanted to see Guldo pull the same stunt he did earlier up close and personal, she needed to see it for herself.

Two blasts came raining from the sky, causing Guldo to look up and quickly analyse the situation. The blasts were gaining on him quickly enough that he wouldn’t make it away on foot.

Rosemary narrowed her eyes, forming an intense but focused glare on Guldo . ‘Yes, that’s it, do it again…’ she urged eagerly.

Guldo threw his hands out in front of him, taking a deep breath of air. Noticing it from the distance, Rosemary watched carefully.

“Time Freeze!” Guldo chanted.

Before she knew it, Rosemary was frozen still for a mere fraction of a second, her eyes locked on Guldo. Before she could take everything in, Guldo was gone. She searched the area quickly, to find him running from the blasts that were still approaching the ground, but far enough ahead of them now that they missed. Guldo hunched over, panting for air as he watched the bald man and the child come back towards the ground.

'His breath is short, but he couldn’t have done enough to tire himself out… Even I can run without breaking a sweat for that short a time.' Rosemary told herself in bewilderment. ‘I know that my powers also take a good deal of stress, but not like this.’

Vegeta gazed at Gohan and Krillin as the blasts made contact with the ground, creating two large craters. These two seemed far stronger than what he remembered of them, but he wasn’t gone for a long enough time to justify such a rapid increase. The boy carried Saiyan blood, he could understand the kid’s growth, but not the bald man’s.

“This is remarkable.” Vegeta told Rosemary, awestruck. “They’ve increased their power significantly since I last fought them. Between the three of you, we may have better odds than I anticipated.”

“I see.” Rosemary acknowledged, still deep in thought. “Have a gander at Guldo, his position is way off of what it was just a moment ago.” she pointed over at Guldo, who looked to remain stationary. “He heavily relies on this new skill of his, it seems.”

“Yes, but how is he doing it is the question.” Vegeta noted.

“I’m getting there.” Rosemary explained further. “I’m on to something, I want him to do it again so I’m sure.”

Gohan and Krillin raced towards Guldo quickly, hoping to get a closer shot at him. Scurrying once again, Guldo took another long inhale before he stopped in his tracks yet again.

“Yes! This is it!” Rosemary commented with determination, being fixed on the spot awkwardly for a split second once again. Now scanning the area, she found Guldo lying on the ground in a completely different spot, seemingly exhausted. “There, look!” she nudged him, pointing over at Guldo again. “Guldo’s completely winded, but I don’t think he’s done enough to make himself tired.”

Following her direction, Vegeta’s eyes widened as he found himself looking straight at Guldo, panting for air as he struggled to get up off the ground. Rosemary was right, but he wondered if she had an explanation for him as well.

“What are you suggesting?” Vegeta asked her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “Guldo’s fairly weak, that’s not news.”

“I’m fairly certain at this point,” Rosemary went on with a grin. “How comical, Guldo takes a deep breath right before he blips away. And, when I spot him after the fact, he’s trying to catch some air as if he’d just ran a marathon. Watch closely this time.”

The two of them watched as Gohan and Krillin chased after Guldo even further, preparing two more energy blasts to fire off. Knowing he couldn’t do another Time Freeze right away, Guldo bolted in the opposite direction, praying he can outrun whatever was about to come his way.

“We got him now, Gohan!” Krillin called out, cupping his hands together to form his next attack. “Kamehame-ha!”

“Masenko...ha!” Gohan followed up, firing off his own blast of vibrantly-bright energy.

Scurrying away with all his might, the two attacks were unfavourably faster than Guldo originally thought. Taking a quick dive to the ground, he was hit by a blue blast that Krillin had fired, sending him flying into a boulder where he then bounced off and laid face-first in the ground. Rosemary let out a chuckle.

“He’s too busy running away to do another freeze! He hasn’t had the opportunity to stabilize his breathing!” Rosemary cheered, pumping a fist in the air proudly. “Suggesting that Guldo’s Time Freeze is linked to him holding his breath!”

Vegeta laughed haughtily.

“You seriously think that’s what it is?” Vegeta bantered. “You’ve had better ideas, I’ll admit.”

“I don’t seem to be getting any better suggestions.” Rosemary challenged. “Or are you just hoping I’m incorrect because of how stupid this sounds?”

Vegeta bitterly remained silent.

“No?” Rosemary edged him further with a quick smirk. “Well then, I’m going to try and corner him to keep him on the run, and whoever manages to get the closest to him first will take him out. I’m too quick for him to try and attack me. Sound reasonable?”

“Don’t die.”

Rosemary managed a chuckle, and took off towards Guldo as fast as she could.

‘I need to end this now.’ she went on, drawing closer to Guldo easily. Focusing on Krillin and Gohan up until that point, Guldo turned his head to see her coming and fearfully dove behind a boulder to hide.

Giggling to herself as she watched Guldo’s display, she shook her head with a confident grin.

‘As if hiding in plain sight is going to do anything, you fool.’ she commented humorously, the grin falling off of her face as she started to run out of ground to cover. ‘Am I actually about to do this?’ She went on, starting to doubt herself. She had never killed anyone before. She tried to negotiate with herself, reminded of the incredible satisfaction she would get if she could really do it, her stress turning to determination and adrenaline as she finally closed the gap on him.

She was mere feet away from Guldo now, knowing that Guldo wouldn’t be able to run very far at that point. Slowing her pace, she stood before him with a confident smirk.

“I’m not the one you were expecting to see, am I?” Rosemary taunted him smugly. ‘I have to hand it to them, talking all high and mighty really does have a thrill to it.’

“Still catching your breath after that last Time Freeze, aren’t you?” she edged on cockily.

Guldo’s face lit up in fright, the green tone of his skin turning a sickly yellow. His exaggerated expression confirming that she was right, Rosemary smirked triumphantly. He growled, reluctantly crawling backwards away from her, still breathing heavily.

“So what? You really think you have it in you?” Guldo childishly scoffed at her. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Rosemary bent forward to meet his eyes, giving him a heavy stare of hatred. Knowing that her time was running thin, her eyes slid down to the nape of his neck intensely as she prepared to take her first and final hit on him.

"This will be the last time you take a shot at me." She declared, trying to sound powerful, making a quick pounce and widening her eyes with greed, then viciously made a swift cut through the air towards Guldo’s neck, slicing Guldo's head from his shoulders. She touched back down on the ground, unsure of how to feel about what she had just done. It was electrifying, the feeling that she had finally had her first real success, but she had just taken someone’s life.

‘I’m a Saiyan, this is just a way of life.’ she convinced herself simply, and dropped the thought.

Shaking her hand free of Guldo’s blood, she locked eyes with Vegeta far off in the distance, who had watching her in suspense the entire time. Her hand began to throb gently from the harsh contact with Guldo’s neck.

The remaining members of the Ginyu Force stood there mortified, as following Vegeta’s expression as they all watched Guldo's head fall to the ground speechlessly. He took advantage of the moment, incredibly satisfied, reappearing before Rosemary in an instant with a savage grin on his face.

“Nice work.”

Vegeta charged a small burst of his energy in his hand, then blasted the head to bits with a quick beam of powerful light.

Rosemary held her head high as she received his attention humbly.

“Thank you.” she responded, bowing her head to him. “I’m tapping out for now, it’s probably for the best. I’m more than happy with one out of five.” she gave him a lighthearted wink with a slight smile. “I was right, by the way.”

“Whatever.” Vegeta spitefully retorted. “Enjoy your first victory, but we’re far from done here.”

After a small chortle, Rosemary leapt into the air, taking to the top of a large mass of rock happily. She sat down on the edge of its peak, crossing her legs elegantly to watch the remainder of the fight carry out.

"W-What the hell's happened to her?!" Jeice questioned his team hysterically. "Rosie’s got some nerve, jumpin’ in like that and then just sits pretty?! Who does she think she is?!”

‘You have some nerve, calling me that.’ Rosemary retorted snidely, watching Jeice fuss from down below.

Rosemary continued to glare at Jeice in spite of her fury at the nickname while Burter advanced on Gohan and Krillin. She wanted to take a cheap shot at him with a blast of her own, but was interrupted by a flash from out of nowhere. She flinched at the speed of whatever it was that just flew through her sight, getting up quickly from where she sat. Kneeling pensively, she squinted to take a better look, still on guard in case one of the fighters decided to take a quick jab at her. Down below, there was now a strange man with black pointy hair down below, casually standing there and seemingly unphased by the intense atmosphere the place was giving off.

“Wha-?!” Rosemary blurted out, amazed with his speed. She took a moment to study the man carefully. After giving it more thought, his hair was strikingly similar to hers and Vegeta's. His gi was unlike anything she’d ever seen, the contrasting blue and orange fabrics leaving her slightly appalled, the vibrant colours clashing obnoxiously. Even all worn and torn, she thought her suit looked far more stylish.

"Dad!" Gohan cheered happily, lying on the ground wearily after taking a heavy jab to the gut. He let out a forced cough, his chest wounded enough to constrict his breathing. “You made it...”

'The child's father…' Rosemary played back. She continued to ponder from the distance, eyeing him closely. The man looked over at Vegeta, who was also in the process of recuperating his energy.

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku spoke out to him, waving a hand in front of his face. "Wasn’t expecting to see you here! You guys alright?"

Tired and grumpy, Vegeta grabbed the man’s arm.

"I'm fine!" Vegeta snapped, slapping the man’s hand aside. “We haven’t exactly been having the time of our lives here.”

Goku sensed an ever so slight change in energy as Rosemary became on guard from afar, peculiarly staring them down.

"Hey, who's she?" Goku asked everyone who was listening, throwing a pointed thumb over his shoulder. Able to distinguish that he was pointing at her, Rosemary blinked blankly in response, remaining silent to see everyone's reaction. She finally opted to remain on standby until she had a better idea of what was happening.

"An ally." Vegeta answered dryly, reluctant to reveal his relation to Rosemary. If anyone figured anything else out, he knew he was going to be the biggest target of mockery he’s dealt with in a long time. He could tell that Rosemary was watching over them curiously from the distance, and that her energy was continuing to drain. “She’s a Saiyan, like us.”

‘Ah, well, that’s that solved.’ Rosemary concluded mentally. ‘I suppose this means that Gohan is also a Saiyan of some sort…’

Jeice watched the group of them awkwardly. He had no idea who all of these people were, or why they decided to become acquainted with each other in the middle of a fight, but he could take advantage of the time that they were distracted.

"Well," Goku laughed slightly, looking over his shoulder to Rosemary, who was now standing atop the small mountain. "You must not be a very good friend if she’s all the way up there!"

Vegeta growled in anger, unamused.

Rosemary decided it would be best to involve herself in the conversation since the man didn’t seem to have ill intent towards the group. She hopped off the edge of the cliff to meet them, landing into a smooth roll and got up gracefully. Approaching him kindly after a strong exhale of recovery, she bowed.

"I haven’t really done much at all, really." Rosemary explained generously, "I was actually just backing off… I’m a bit tired from fighting."

"Alright, rest up." Goku nodded. “Hey, for a Saiyan, you’re really nice! Compared to Vegeta, I mean.”

Rosemary blushed, leaning in towards Goku slightly. Vegeta did his best to ignore him, checking to see if Rosemary cracked up at all. To his relief, she hadn’t budged.

"Listen, if I were you," Rosemary whispered Goku cautiously "I would take it easy with Vegeta." She suggested firmly. "He's not one for comedy unless it’s from him. It’s finally died down here, I wouldn’t mind a few minutes of peace...."

"What is this, some kind of reunion?!" Burter taunted from the distance, then charged towards Goku at an extreme speed. “How dare you ignore us!”

Rosemary whipped around quick enough to catch Burter advancing on them, taking a short leap to the side. Aware of his presence as well, Goku ducked as Burter attempted to land a kick to his face, then punched him in the gut as he stood up straight again immediately after, then tossed Burter aside casually. Rosemary watched, stunned.

Rosemary gasped, startled by Goku’s abilities.

'His reaction time and strength is incredible! It's... much higher than mine, that’s for sure, and maybe even Vegeta's...' she gawked, dumbfounded. ‘But where did he get such power from if Vegeta of all people can't match it?!'

"Burter!" Jeice cried out hysterically as he watched his comrade fall lifelessly to the ground, hesitant to engage this new person. This man just came out of nowhere and was freakishly stronger than anyone he’s ever come across, like hell he was going to try and fight.

‘I think it’s best if I retreat for now, I’m gonna get killed if I stay here!’ he regrettably thought.

"Just wait 'till the Captain finds out about this! I got what I came here for!" he threatened them frantically, then took off from the fight as quickly as possible.

"Hey, he’s running away!” Rosemary bellowed out frantically, getting ready to take off and catch him. "He’s going to get Ginyu… Look, if you thought these guys were giving us a hard time, we’re in for it now! I’m going to-"

“No, you’re not going anywhere.” Vegeta told her sternly. He immediately grabbed her wrist, hoping she wouldn’t run off and hurt herself trying to get away from him. “You’ve done enough.”

Rosemary fought against his grip for a brief moment, gritting her teeth and lowered her head in defeat. She knew that she couldn’t handle a fight alone, and Vegeta was right, she was done after this encounter.

  
“Vegeta, _please_ ,” she pleaded urgently with tightened fists, unsatisfied with her efforts despite doing the most she’s ever accomplished. “You know as well as I do what’s to come! At this rate, I’m the only one that can catch him!”

Vegeta released her hand, crossing his arms with a scowl. He gave as intimidating a stare as he could manage. He cared too much about her condition to see her try and surpass herself at the moment, despite encouraging her to do so not that long ago.

“I know.” he replied. “But you know better.”

Rosemary let out a sigh, knowing that she would easily be bested by Vegeta if she tried to pull a fast one, and gave up on trying to continue the fight.

"Hey, seriously though," Goku teased further. "You guys get along but you’re so different, you know each other?"

Comforted by the comment, Rosemary managed a small smile.   
“For quite some time, yes.” she explained calmly. “We’ve also been away from each other for quite some time. It’s taken its toll.”

It was embarrassing, being compared to Vegeta after everything that had just happened, she couldn’t touch what this man could do. She was a Saiyan, she should have been much stronger and more confident in herself than she was. Truthfully, she couldn’t bring herself to pretend to be something she wasn’t, and that was powerful. Instead, she hid her face and blushed wildly in humiliation.  
"Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you," Goku laughed lightly. "Vegeta’s just a tough nut to crack!"

Vegeta’s serious expression broke slightly as Rosemary humbly cowered away. She was noticeably tense, perhaps the conversation was too much for her right now, given the weight of everything that had been happening until this point.

"I'd watch your tone if I were you, Kakarot." Vegeta threatened calmly. "More importantly, don’t prod her so much, she’s sensitive."

Seemingly unaffected by Vegeta’s taunts, Goku snickered casually. He wasn’t used to Vegeta looking out for anyone other than himself, he liked the change of heart. Rosemary blinked cluelessly, surprised that Vegeta had gone out of his way for her sake yet again.

"Anyway, I'm Goku, but Vegeta calls me Kakarot or whatever since I guess that was my original name. You’ve probably already figured out that I’m a Saiyan too!" He introduced himself, bowing respectfully. Rosemary was flattered by his formality, and timidly blushed again "What about you?"

"R-Rosemary." she hesitated and followed with a bow of her own, looking over at Vegeta, who had now been pouting impatiently. “ Royal Advisor to the Saiyan throne, but more specifically, Prince Vegeta.”

"Ohoho _wow_ , you guys are _really_ close then!" Goku laughed nervously, eyeing her excitedly. “You must be amazing if you’ve been trusted with Vegeta! I guess that means that he really trusts you, too!” he chuckled, trying to cheer her up. Rosemary blushed even more, unsure of what to say.

"Yes, well," Vegeta obnoxiously barged in. "She’s far smarter than she lets on." He looked over to Rosemary, who shied away from him as their eyes met, and continued on towards Goku, angrily looked up his chin. He wasn’t wrong, but he was definitely making Rosemary uncomfortable. "Quit making her all shy! She’s still shaken from being freed not long ago!"

"Hey, take it easy!" Goku shrieked in his defence, cowering away in a harmless laughter. "It’s not like that! She’s brand new to me, you know?! It’s exciting, that’s all!"

After the brief introduction, Goku rushed over to his injured son, who had been laying on the ground peacefully now that the Ginyu Force had taken off, focusing his breathing so he wouldn’t strain himself anymore.

"Hey, Dad!" Gohan managed to say through a couple of thick coughs. "You're finally here..."

"You bet, kiddo!" Goku told him happily, "I see you've made a new friend!" He looked over to Rosemary, who had been in a strange but quiet stare battle with Vegeta after he had dismissed himself from them. She seemed to be avoiding him awkwardly, whereas he looked like he was trying to get some kind of recognition from her for looking out for her feelings.

"Rosemary?" Gohan clarified. "Yeah, she's nice. Nothing like Vegeta was when he first showed up. Be nice to her, she's helped us out a lot."

Goku let out a chuckle.

As Goku talked to his son, Rosemary awkwardly slid away from Vegeta to make some conversation with the others.

"Yeah, I kinda got that from her." he agreed cheerfully. “It’s great that we have someone else around! She seems really close with Vegeta, something about being his advisor or somethin’.” he held his arm out to help his son off the ground.

Gohan rolled his eyes weakly, grabbing his hand and gradually got up.

"Dad." He told his father tiredly. "They’re really close. Like, more than friends close."

Within earshot of their conversation, Rosemary shot up stiffly where she stood, blushing again once she realised they were talking about her relationship Vegeta. She hoped they were right, she’s never known exactly how Vegeta had thought about her, but she had spent many years trying to figure it out. Krillin nudged Goku in the shoulder with a grin and raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"So, now that she's here," Goku followed along "He doesn't want to follow up with that?" he crossed his arms and shook his head with a grin. “Classic Vegeta, I guess.”

"Yep, basically..." Krillin replied simply, making Goku frown. "Well, you know how Vegeta is."

"Man, that's gotta suck…" Goku sighed sympathetically. "She seems really tense and weird around him. It must make her upset when he gets really mean."

"Well, Rosemary kinda broke the stereotype on Saiyans being jerks for me but," Krillin replied in disagreement. "She seems really shy, and Vegeta’s the opposite. She did just spend a lot of time being locked up though... I think she’s waiting for a good time to catch up, but we’re kinda fighting for our lives at the moment.”

Rosemary felt her face get hot as she listened further. Was she that predictable?

‘I didn’t realise I came across as so sensitive…’ she told herself, recalling Vegeta mention it as well. She trembled in ridicule and tightened her fists insecurely. ‘Oh, I’m so stupid! I’m not trying to be some damsel in distress, I just want to live my life in peace!’

“Fair enough.” Goku finished catching up, ready to cut to the chase again “So, where's that red guy going? Said something about a captain?"

"You mean his boss?!" Krillin tensed up.

"I guess so," Goku replied, unsure. "Rosemary seemed kinda nervous about it... I guess if she wasn’t losing her mind over it, it could be worse." He turned around to look over to the edge of the island where she was originally, to find she was immediately behind him, making them both jump vulnerably.

"I-I know everything there is to know about this group!" Rosemary shrieked. She hoped they wouldn’t mind that she was listening in and continued to quiver nervously as she hid her face again. "I-I can tell you anything you need to know... I have you guys to help fight them now, I didn’t have such a luxury before...!"

"H-how long have you been standing there, anyways? You were so quiet I didn’t even hear you come over!" Goku stammered back. “I can’t sense you either? What’s up with that?” He noticed that Vegeta had looked over to see why Rosemary had shouted, but refrained from doing anything about it and continued to pout and stare off into the distance.

"A- A good amount of time, I suppose." She timidly replied. "I can’t really tell because this planet makes it… never mind.” she sighed skeptically, wondering if she should really continue explaining. “As for the sensing thing, well, I’m not powerful at all, I’m not like you and Vegeta… I’m a dud, if you will.”

She bent over to enclose the space and whispered under her breath.

“Also uh… I couldn’t help but overhear that you think that Vegeta, um… you know… Could you please try to keep it to yourselves? It's more complicated than that and we don’t have time for me to explain, please forgive me for listening in!"


	6. Tension

**_Chapter Six - Tension_**  
  
"There you are, sir," Captain Ginyu addressed Frieza professionally as he landed out front of Frieza’s main ship, tossing his armful of shiny orange orbs on the ground before him. The Dragon Balls slowly rolled to a halt in front of Frieza, their glassy finish glimmering in the sunlight. He bowed gracefully, then held his head high in pride. "All seven Dragon Balls, as you requested."

Frieza’s impatient scowling turned into a wide smile. 

"Excellent, Ginyu." Frieza acknowledged him as he approached the Dragon Balls excitedly, glaring down at the large balls with delight. "I knew I should have called you from the start." He chuckled lowly. "Now then, let's get this over with so I can get off this stupid planet and destroy it for giving me such a hard time." 

Flaring out his arms swiftly and powerfully, Frieza began to chant. "Dragon, rise to grant me my wish!"

The Dragon Balls sat in the weird blue grass, unbothered.

Intensifying their glare as they anticipated something spectacular, Frieza and Ginyu gazed in confusion as nothing occurred. Frieza growled irritably, his impatience persisting even further.

"What's going on?!" he shouted in a fuss. "Why aren't they working?!"

Captain Ginyu continued to watch the balls blankly, crossing his arms to ponder.

"Hmm..." He thought out loud. "Are you sure you're doing it right, sir?" he asked Frieza, remaining optimistic. "Perhaps these Namekians have their own native language, or some kind of keyword you need to activate them?"

Frieza shot Ginyu a bitter look.

"Why the hell would something like these have a password?" Frieza asked him sarcastically. " _ Clearly _ , it's the first one. Pity, there are no Namekians left to activate them for me since my soldiers had a bit too much fun."

Doubtful, Ginyu pressed a button on the side of his Scouter, trying to pick up any form of life that may happen to still be out there somewhere. Just a moment later, beeping slowly in response, the device indicated a few small yellow dots on the surface of the translucent green eyepiece. He turned to follow the orientation on the Scouter slowly, finding himself stopped as he faced the open water of an ocean. The water had been calmly glazed over allowing him to see extremely far distances with ease.

"It’s your lucky day, sir." Ginyu informed him encouragingly, pointing out towards a far-off island across the sea. "My Scouter is detecting three of them in that direction!"

Frieza looked out to where Ginyu was pointing, a tall pillar-like mountain faintly visible from where they stood, nodding in approval.

"Very good." He acknowledged him again. "I'll see to it, then." He replied, and took off towards the island immediately, leaving Ginyu to supervise the ship and the Dragon Balls alone. 

Jeice landed in front of Ginyu in a hurry,

"Oi! Cap’n!" Jeice called from the air. "Come quick!"

"Jeice!" Ginyu greeted him warmly. "Glad to see you’ve returned, I’ve been entrusted to keep guard of these Dragon Balls.” he tilted his head, nothing that Jeice was the only one to return. “Where are the others? Still cleaning up?"

Hesitant to respond for a brief moment, Jeice shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, sir," he reported shakily. "They've all been eradicated, s-sir." He fisted his hands in a panic "Miss Rosie took care of Guldo in a flash, it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen from ‘er. And this other guy showed up and took out Burter, so there’s more of ‘em now. Recoombe was killed by Vegeta on my way back here… You and I are all that's left, sir."

Ginyu sighed dismissively.

"This group is becoming quite a bunch of pests, aren’t they?" he asked in a low tone. Jeice pouted, absolutely humiliated. He knew he was the weakest fighter, even more so now, but he questioned if the two of them could finish the job at this rate.

"Aye," he admitted, "This new guy that showed up handled Burter like it was child’s play, sir! It was insane… If I had to guess, they’re probably gonna be headed here to reclaim the Dragon Balls. Where’s Lord Frieza, wasn’t he wit’ you?"

Ginyu frowned.

"He’s off to find some locals to activate the Dragon Balls, there were complications." Ginyu replied. He walked closer to the foot of the ship, tapping the ground with his foot pointedly. "Before we go anywhere, we’re burying these Dragon Ball things so they aren’t in plain sight."

Jeice nodded affirmatively, rejoining Ginyu where he stood. "Good thinking, sir. Last thing we need is our heads off because Frieza has lost control of the objective.”

With a final nod to each other in agreement, they began to dig a hole just large enough to fit the Dragon Balls snugly inside. The dirt beneath them was surprisingly soft, allowing them to finish the job quickly. They slid the Dragon Balls into the hole, and smoothed the earth back over them with ease. Jeice ripped up a patch of grass from nearby, sticking it on top of the mound in hopes that it would help disguise the patch while they were gone. Satisfied, they set off to find the bunch that destroyed their squad.

 

. . .

 

"… And then the Ginyu Force arrived here and took the Dragon Balls we just rounded up!" Krillin explained to Goku, pacing back and forth in worry.

Gohan and Rosemary nodded as Krillin finished re-telling their events of the day to catch Goku up to speed. Things were moving rather quickly now, Rosemary wondered how long it would be until they inevitably crossed paths with Frieza for the final fight.

Vegeta continued to sulk privately, actively listening in as everyone grew chatty. Whether he liked it or not, it was in his best interest to stay with the Earthlings if he wanted any chance for himself or Rosemary to get off the planet alive and in one piece. He thought briefly about what he’d get up to on the off-chance that he had a life to spare after everything was said and done. Now that he thought about it, If Frieza could be defeated, he wouldn’t have much of a purpose anymore, with his planet gone and his people eliminated. It’d just be him, Kakarot, the kid, and most important out of the bunch, Rosemary.

"Yes," Rosemary commented, trying to devise a plan after everything she’s seen so far. She had her doubts, but she was convinced that she could make something work. "But, I'm beginning to think that it's not that big a problem just yet…"

Heavy with nerves for quite some time now, everyone looked over to her for insight.

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, trying to keep a sense of urgency. "If Frieza gets them, he could become immortal and we won’t be able to stop him after that."

"Of course, yes." She agreed politely, expressively holding out a hand. "But, those Dragon Balls are owned by this planet, correct?"

Goku, Krillin and Gohan nodded, while Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her, unsure of where she was going with it just yet.

"During my short time in captivity while I’ve been here," she continued. "I’ve noticed that Namekians speak in their own tongue when they don’t want to be understood… What if those Dragon Balls can only be summoned through that language?" 

She waited a moment for a response, but there was none. 

"...Am I the only one that’s noticed?"

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." Gohan spoke up, lowering his head shyly. "At first, I thought it was a silly idea, but you’re onto something."

Rosemary lended him a warm smile.

"Come now," she softened her voice. "Right now, there’s no such thing as a silly idea. A hypothesis is nothing more than an educated guess, after all." She gave Gohan an encouraging wink, then frowned, thinking further. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a group of Namekians other than the few they’d come across before the Ginyus showed up. The plan proved to be more difficult that she originally thought. 

She gave a doubtful sigh. "Here’s the hard part. The only Namekians that we currently know of are the elder, the guard that was  _ with  _ the elder, and the little boy that you guys managed to save." She shrugged her shoulders, her confidence in the idea faltering as she quickly ran the odds through her head. "So that's why when I say it's not that big an issue, it's because the chances of the Ginyus finding them are relatively slim... They’re at Guru’s tower, if they’ve moved since then, that also means that we may not be able to use these Dragon Balls, either."

Suddenly feeling an obnoxious energy moving just within his reach, Vegeta scowled, troubled.

"About that,” Vegeta barged into the conversation assertively, able to barely decipher that the energy belonged to Lord Frieza himself. “Frieza’s headed there right now, he must have been given a new Scouter to track them." he let out a frustrated growl. “We can’t waste more time here! After hitting those guys, he’s going to backtrack and find us here!”  
Gohan nodded in agreement, picking up Frieza’s sickly aura as well.

“Vegeta’s right, he’s definitely hunting down Guru!” Gohan confirmed.

Rosemary’s hands fearfully curled into fists.

"I was hoping it wouldn’t be so  _ soon _ !" she whined. “Things are really coming down to the wire, it seems.”

This was really it, everything was about to go down in some form. She had waited so long for even the slightest chance that Frieza would be out of the picture, but considering the way she anticipated it to happen as the group of them continued to push on, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be around for the end.

"We have to go help them... This might be our last chance to get what we need as well.”

"No." Vegeta told her simply.

Rosemary wrinkled her nose in disgust. She wasn’t sure what she hated more, the fact that Vegeta was challenging her on every little thing she suggested, or his unwavering lack of understanding their need to be careful. Hopefully it was nothing personal.

"What?! Why not?" she shouted furiously. "Vegeta, you better have a good reason for this, do you not understand our circumstances here?!"

Vegeta’s glare sharpened on her as she yelled at him.

"Shut up and I'll explain!" he shouted back at her firmly, causing Rosemary cower away. "That guard was probably selected out of honour to protect the elder." He crossed his arms with a strong huff, slightly remorseful for scaring her like he had. "If he was any man of honour, he would refuse your assistance, even if it leads to death."

Hesitant to agree but knew that she wasn’t one to know anything about honour, Rosemary sighed heavily.

"Well, you are a prince, after all..." she mumbled. "I suppose I can put faith in this one…" she intensified her glare on him after adjusting her plan. "But you  _ do  _ realize that we are certainly going to have to fight Frieza eventually, and I'd rather do so  _ before  _ he becomes immortal!"

Now feeling a sharp pang in her senses as well, Rosemary turned around to find Jeice and Ginyu landing a short distance behind them, empty handed. She looked back to Vegeta hastily. ‘This could be exactly what we needed, how convenient.’

"Listen, Vegeta, please trust me on this." she told him sternly in a whisper. "If Frieza is at the elder's tower, and  _ they're _ -" she shot a look over to Ginyu and Jeice out of the corner of her eye " _ -here _ , then the Dragon Balls are probably back at Frieza’s ship, unattended to!"

Vegeta's eyes widened, thrilled at the news. He childishly tied up the score between the two of them in his head and chose to ignore her informality, satisfied with her findings. He snickered pleasurably.

"So they're free to take." He finished for her. Rosemary replied with a small but cheeky grin and an inconspicuous nod.

"I think it would be wise to take Krillin and Gohan with you." she continued in a hush, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be too happy with company. "I can tell that you’re not a fan of them, but it's just in case. I'll stay here with Goku to get him up to speed on Ginyu's techniques."

"This had better work." Vegeta told her lowly, skeptical about leaving Rosemary with Kakarot. The fool always had a way of pulling through, sure, but he had a knack for doing so under the most extreme of ways. “Don’t be reckless.”

"We'll find out soon enough." She replied in a serious tone, eyeing the rest of the group to gain approval, then looked back to Vegeta as she tensed up her stance. She took a deep breath to keep herself calm. "Okay, it's best to go now before things heat up."

After discussing her plan with the group, Vegeta had motioned Krillin and Gohan to follow him reluctantly, leaving only Rosemary and Goku behind to take on the remains of the Ginyu Force. Goku looked at them naively.

"It's just you and I now, Goku." She told him, walking in front. "I'll take Jeice, and you can take Ginyu."

Goku managed awkward smile.

"I mean, Vegeta just said not to be reckless! Are you sure you can handle-"

"I'll be fine!" she cut him off harshly. "Listen, Ginyu's powers rely on taking over another someone else's body. The minute he chants 'change', you have to get out of there!"

Goku nodded after some light laughter. ‘Man, this girl means business! I like it, but she’s not nearly as strong as the others…’

"Look, I know we just met and all," Rosemary shyly continued. "But there's something huge I can sense within you, and I don’t know what it is  or how you got it, but it’s probably my last hope for freedom!" she looked back at him with a serious expression. "I'm counting on you to take my advice so we can get rid of these two for good and get out of-”

"Careful!" Goku told her quickly, with Jeice already on the move towards her. She turned her head around immediately and quickly shot an arm out in front of her to grab him after some intense and strained focus, holding him still as she dashed in for a downwards kick to the head, crumbling the rock beneath the both of them a litte.

"What the-?!" Jeice moaned, his face still in the dirt. "What kind of cheap fight is this?"

"I don't care, it's working!" she growled back, jumping away as she gave her hold on Jeice up, getting another jolt to her head from the stress she was enduring, forcing her down to a kneel. 'I took him on too quickly and I’m not in the greatest shape for this… God, I’m so damn weak, it’s humiliating!' she thought impatiently, gradually forming her hold of Jeice once more. Getting back up, she leapt back in for a small flurry of kicks, retreating again afterwards and skipped around to stay on the move.

"Would you quit it?!" Jeice shrieked painfully as he got back up, furious as Rosemary panted for air desperately to get over her anguish. His nose was starting to flare up again, even after he had put it back in place on his way back to Ginyu. “The hell is this you’re doing to me?!”

'I have to do this!' she told herself willingly, near tears. She was remembering just how much she hated fighting as she stared Jeice down carefully, her forehead now screaming at her for putting it through so much work. 'I'm going to have to rely on my speed to save me now, this pain is just too much for me to keep doing this… Sorry, Vegeta, now is just not the time to push myself.'

"So be it." she retorted, sprinting over to him yet again. She sprung into the air to land a hasty kick to his gut, knocking him back and forcing him to keel over in agony. Her eyes were burning to stay open, but she persisted onwards. She wasn’t done, she needed to finish the job.

" _ Change… _ " she managed to hear faintly from behind, catching her attention instantly as she eased herself around nervously. Goku was planted where he stood, staring upwards at Ginyu as he proceeded to perform his all too familiar body swap - after taking care to gouge his chest out so that he was on the brink of death.

"Goku, you  _ have _ to move!" she shouted in hope that she was within earshot, not paying attention to Jeice, who had quickly recovered and attempted to slap Rosemary while she wasn't looking. Able to reduce the blow to about a quarter of its power before it had made contact with her face by forcing his hand back with the last of her remaining power, she was sent sideways and off her feet. Helplessly beaten, her body trembled as she opted not to get back up, concluding that Jeice was close enough to respond immediately if she tried.

Jeice watched the captain’s fight ecstatically, taking a kneel beside Rosemary in satisfaction. He spared her any further damage, uninterested in beating up a lady, let alone  _ this  _ lady. His job wasn’t to kill, only to prevent the group from interfering with Frieza’s request.

"It's alright, Rosemary, I can block it!" Goku called from afar.

Rosemary slammed her hands to the ground in violent fists. ‘Why,  _ why  _ can’t he just listen to me?!’

" _ NO, YOU CAN’T!! _ " she cried as she watched a bright golden beam of light shoot from Ginyu's mouth. The both of them watched it gain on Goku at a frightening speed.

"I can't?" he called back in confusion "Why not?"

"Just shut up and _ DODGE IT _ !" she screamed, but knew it was too late to change the outcome. Ginyu’s spiritual energy was already too close for Goku to escape the trajectory of the blast. Distraught, her body slumped to the ground in defeat. Tears were uncontrollably escaping her eyes as they continued to burn angrily. ‘Damn it… I was supposed to prevent this from happening… What am I going to tell Vegeta now…’

Ginyu’s blast made direct contact with Goku despite Rosemary’s plea to get away, a bright flash of light blinding everyone in sight. Rosemary didn’t bother looking up to see what had happened, instead she buried her face and continued to sob to herself.

As the light faded, Jeice laughed victoriously, giving Rosemary’s waist a mocking nudge for good measure.

"Aww, tough luck, Rosie!" Jeice teased and flew over to Goku, knowing that the captain had taken over a new body. Ginyu, now Goku, was looking at himself in disappointment up above, wincing as he felt his heart fighting against the hole in his chest to function properly. Rosemary growled as she watched Goku descend to the ground once again.

"Why didn't you listen to me, Goku?!" she wept frantically, now noticing the large, seeping hole in his chest. She got up frantically to help him, keeping her eyes away from the wound squeamishly until she had to tend to it. "If you did what I told you to do, we could have taken advantage of the situation!"

Goku, now Ginyu, laughed hysterically.

"What's his is mine and mine is his!" Ginyu boasted triumphantly, flexing and punching the air rapidly. "Ah, this power is incredible!"

Rosemary slowly crept towards him now, uncertain if she could aid him, now awkwardly looking at the body of what would normally have been a man she avoided at all costs. Short for time, she forced herself to examine him to properly tend to his wounds. There was a massive hole clawed into his chest, with purple blood seeping slowly out of him. Distastefully examining the edges, Rosemary assumed that the blood had already began to clot in an attempt to stabilize Goku’s body.

"Gods!" she gasped in disbelief, crouching down to get a closer look."How are you still standing after this?!" she asked in shock, reaching out to touch it.

"Don't," Goku flinched back. "It stings…"

Rosemary’s jaw dropped open.

"You've got to be joking!" she bitterly shot back. "You have a huge hole rammed right through you and it  _ stings _ ?!"

Goku noticed something spiking from within her. Her energy up until now was soft and gentle, but he was sensing something desperate now, something much bolder than before.

"Look, I know you're mad!" he told her carefully, not entirely sure what to expect from her just then. "But listen, that anger of yours is making your power increase!"

Rosemary looked down at herself as if she was supposed to see some noteworthy change, clueless, then back up to him.

"It is?" she asked, crossing her arms, unconvinced. 

"Trust me!" Goku assured her. "But use it on them, not me! I’ll be fine!"

Jeice used his Scouter to evaluate their remaining power now that Goku was fatally wounded, reading a bright  _ 12450  _ across the screen -  a number higher than what he was hoping to see. He looked over to the captain with a grave expression, gesturing to bail from the scene with a nod off towards the sea. Quietly agreeing with him, they flew away quickly to escape, content with the outcome of their encounter. Feeling the air clear slightly, Rosemary instinctively looked over her shoulder to find the Ginyus fleeing.

"You cowards!" she yelled at them as they grew farther away, then turned back to Goku. "Hey, if it just stings, can you still fly?" she sighed heavily, shaking her head frantically, intensely worried about the situation. "Because I can't carry you if you can't! They’re headed back to the ship, and when they get there, they’re going to take care of Vegeta and the others, I’m sure of it!"

"What, why not?" Goku asked her in confusion. "Aren't you like me?"

"Yes, but I'm not  _ strong _ like you and Vegeta!" she replied quickly, her eyes aching from crying as more tears came to surface. She gave the ground a swift kick out of anger. "I have a different kind of power and I don’t really know how it works, I’m essentially useless in a fight."

Goku moped. He wasn’t good at the whole comfort thing.

"Hey, don’t be like that…" Goku responded awkwardly. "You’re going to figure it out eventually. But for now, we need to catch them before they get to the others!"

"Right, let's go!" Rosemary agreed quickly. "Just stay back in case they try to pull a fast one!"

"I think it would actually be better if you stayed back, Rosemary." Goku rebutted. "You're exhausted, even if you’re not wounded."

Rosemary huffed. ‘Am I really that weak that someone, even on the edge of death, is still stronger than I?’

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Goku…"

 

. . .

 

As Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta flew back to Frieza's main ship, Gohan noticed that Vegeta had been becoming restless after their rushed flight. He assumed he was worried that Rosemary was in a dangerous situation somewhere, but his crankiness had become harder to deal with the longer they travelled together. 

After finally arriving and several attempts to get him to settle down, Gohan tried to encourage Vegeta to rest while he could. After remembering how much the factor of sleep had impacted Rosemary after a short while, Vegeta reluctantly gave in and took to a secure area within the ship. 

He found himself in one of the infirmary rooms, the walls lined with broken beds and shattered healing vessels as he paced around the room to find a comfortable looking spot to put himself. The ship was a disaster - partially thanks to him for making such a scene while he escaped before all the chaos began. He plopped himself down in front of a healing tank and slowly eased himself back to lean against it, his body aching all over as it reclined. Perhaps taking a breather was for the best. 

He stared at the opposing wall, his mind clouded with constant stress since he chose to fool around with the Earthlings again. Was it too much to ask that things just go as he planned? He hadn’t been so fortunate once the Ginyu Force showed up, but the real question was if he would be able to get off of Namek with his life in tact, or even more importantly, what he was going to do once he did.

His thoughts turned to Rosemary, her moment of breakthrough with Guldo still fresh in his mind. There was so much about her that was new to him, yet the way she carried herself, all the way down to how she spoke, was exactly the same. The way she went in for that first but final strike was absolutely riveting, her snappy and precise slice, so  _ calculated _ , something about it aggressively turned him on. she was so damn shy around him for some reason, however, he wondered if she had managed to figure out anything new about their relationship over the years. He loved it though, he found her innocence and purity adorable, though he would never admit it. Despite her acquiring a darker personality thanks to her change of scenery, he was somehow pleased by that as well.

Something about thinking about her just then made him awkwardly stiff. His exhaustion was becoming more apparent as he lounged, his consciousness fluttering around deliriously as he continued to ponder. He couldn’t deny that he was far too excited to have her around again. 

‘Gods, just sleep already.’ he snapped at himself, leaning his head back against the broken machine tiredly, continuing to stare blankly at the wall.

Meanwhile, outside the ship, Krillin was convincing Gohan of a plan to dig up and steal the Dragon Balls for themselves and run away.

"Listen," he was saying, "With him sleeping in there, we have a good amount of time to get outta here once we get ‘em out of the dirt."

"Yeah, but what if he wakes up?" Gohan defended, uncertain that the two of them would be able to pull it off safely. Vegeta didn’t seem like a person that needed much sleep at all to function, in fact, he seemed like the kind of guy that had issues sleeping altogether. "You don't think he would be mad?"

"Instead of standing here  _ arguing  _ about it," Krillin continued. "We could be halfway done! Quick, let’s do this! We still don’t know what his plan is."

Krillin had begun digging, while Gohan continued to watch for any sign of someone approaching.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gohan asked him again, still unconvinced. "You have to remember about Rosemary, too!" he lowered his head sadly. "To be honest, I'm more afraid of her than I am of Vegeta… She really trusts us, why would we ruin that?"

After finally being able to sleep for ten questionable minutes, Vegeta was startled awake by some stroke of intuition, remembering the suspicious fuss that Gohan and Krillin had made about handing over the Dragon Ball when they needed it most. He immediately concluded the two boys outside were up to something.

"Those two!" he growled, still tired. "They might take the Dragon Balls for themselves!"

Without further hesitation, he got up, washed his face in a nearby sink, then hurried outside, only to get smashed into a wall of the ship by something blindsiding him. Among the dust of debris, he heard an angry growl.

“Thought you were rid of me, huh?!” Jeice shouted. “Think again!”

‘Damn it!’ he put together angrily, blasting Jeice away with a quick ki blast. ‘If Hot Shot here came back, that means Rosemary and Kakarot were unsuccessful... Shit, I should have known! What was I thinking, trusting those two on their own, not even Rosemary’s brain is enough to carry that  _ buffoon _ !’ he shook his head, launching himself out of the ship angrily, to find Jeice eagerly waiting for him. 

“What a way to wake up.” he muttered, his mind still frustratingly fixed on other things. “Alright, if you really think you have a shot at me, Jeice, let’s get this over with.”

Jeice grinned devilishly.

“Y’know, if Rosie’s partner there wasn’t such an idiot, they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble.” he bragged, arrogantly raising an eyebrow. “So, Princey, you gettin’ all close now that she’s around or what? I wouldn’t wanna waste any quality time, if I were you.”

Vegeta scowled, his face obscenely hot. All this teasing was really starting to piss him off.

“I’ll be sure to, in your memory.” he hissed, diving towards Jeice aggressively. “I wouldn’t mind another reason to look forward to it, to be perfectly honest.”

Rosemary watched Vegeta and Jeice go at it from afar as she zoomed towards the island quickly, performing a single front flip with finesse as she landed to break her fall. Goku, barely clinging to life in Ginyu's body, touched down not far behind, landing much more slowly with a hand over his chest to slow his bleeding. 

Now able to sense them down below, he spent every free moment he could trying to understand why Rosemary was with Ginyu, of all people, if Kakarot wasn’t around. Profoundly confused, Vegeta shook his head quickly to make sure he wasn’t in some ridiculous dream.

"What the hell?!" Vegeta managed to say as he continued to parry Jeice’s weaker punches. He could feel that Jeice was growing tired, and he could tell that Jeice couldn’t keep up with him, either. ‘I just can’t catch a break, it seems.’

Jeice retreated a few steps back frantically. In all of this man’s life, Vegeta has never been this strong.

Reappearing behind him, Vegeta wickedly pinned his arms behind him in an all too familiar fashion, remembering how sick it had made him to watch Jeice do the same to Rosemary. He wasn’t about to waste time on his own desires, however.

Knowing exactly what running through Vegeta’s mind, Jeice yanked his wrists away as hard as he could, but Vegeta was too strong. ‘...This  _ bastard _ .’ He tried to writhe his wrists around to try and weaken Vegeta’s hold, but Vegeta seemed to be on top of that, too, clamping down hard on them to restrict his movement. Unless he injured himself to get away, he was in for it now.

Vegeta chuckled.

“Not as fun when it’s you at someone’s mercy, hmm?” he shot back, holding a hand in front of Jeice’s face evilly, a small flicker of bright light appearing within his palm. 

Jeice’s eyes glued wildly to Vegeta’s growing energy, concluding he was in the last few seconds of his life. ‘Well, I had a good run, I s’pose.’

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be sure not to make an ordeal out of it, like  _ you _ did.”

The energy rapidly flickering in his hand, Vegeta spitefully shoved it into Jeice’s face, blasting him into oblivion.

Down below, Rosemary took the time to check up on Goku’s wound once again now that they had travelled a significant distance. She brought him to a kneel as they watched Vegeta finish Jeice off with ease, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Finally, some good fortune.” she commented as she heard the final blow be dealt, gently running her fingers along the edge of Goku’s damage. It seemed to have scabbed over around the outside, at least, but there were small amounts of blood still creeping out from the center. She looked up at Goku eerily, to be met with Ginyu’s purple, veiny face. “I’d be a fool to ask if it still hurts, but is it better at least?” 

He nodded, her touch tickling him slightly but did his best not to wince.

“Yeah, I should be fine.” he responded. “My body should be showing up shortly since we passed him on the way here, I shouldn’t be like this much longer.”

Vegeta landed in front of the two of them, arms crossed, taking in the sight of Rosemary tending to Goku awkwardly. Her hands were still close to his wound, he could only imagine her tender aid as her fingers crept across his body. ‘I suppose it’s reassuring that she was trained well.’ He hardened his stare on her.

Rosemary stood up, holding her hands out defensively.

"It's not what it looks like, Vegeta!" Rosemary rushed in before Vegeta could do anything rash. "It's actually Goku! Ginyu performed a body swap."

Dripping with temptation, he grinned. He could finally accomplish what he’d meant to for so long. He heartily laughed at the idea.

" _ So _ , what's stopping me from killing both Ginyu  _ and  _ Kakarot at the same time?" he went on diabolically. “Must be my lucky day, after all.”

Rosemary took her left hand and threw a thumb over her shoulder, to point out Ginyu, still in Goku's body, landing close behind.

"Him." She answered with wit. "And I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but I think it would be in our best interest to get Goku back in his original body."

Vegeta’s excited smirk curled into a frown. Rosemary cocked an eyebrow at him, awaiting some kind of acknowledgement. She knew that Vegeta wouldn’t tell her she was right even if she was. Vegeta let out a faint growl, refusing to admit defeat to her.

"I’m not sold on it," he lied under his breath. "But I suppose I could let you have a chance to redeem yourself after nearly dying to your biggest fan."

Rosemary rolled her eyes, accompanied by a faint smirk and a sigh. ‘He must really hate Goku for some reason.’

"Oh, you know that’s  _ exactly  _ what I wanted, thanks." She replied sarcastically.

"You watch your tone!" Vegeta sneered. "I'm  _ still _ the prince!" he exhaled to calm down, realizing that it would be wise to keep her on his good side. "Just… shut up and stay out of my way."

"Of course," she purred over-dramatically, "Your _ Highness _ ."

After fighting with himself not to retaliate, he took off to the sky, challenging Ginyu to finish off the Ginyu Force, once and for all.

“So, what was that about not picking a fight with him?” Goku prodded with a snicker. “If he’s letting  _ that _ one slide, you’d really have to be something special.”

Embarrassed, Rosemary retracted her hand from his wound and spun around crossly.

“Yes, well, I may have just spared your life.” she hotly shot back. “I’m his  _ Advisor _ , and I  _ advise _ him accordingly.”

The sky growing bright, she squinted to see what it was. Ginyu and Vegeta had quickly taken to a fight it seemed, with a too familiar beam of light heading towards Vegeta.

"No!" she cried out. "Gods, not him too!"

"Hey," Goku replied, now standing. "I've got this one."

He vanished from Rosemary’s sight and got in front of Vegeta, taking the blast willingly at the last possible moment. From down below, watching Goku’s plan work perfectly, Rosemary leaped happily in delight.

"Did-" she breathed. "Did it work?!"

Ginyu, flustered to be back in his own body, winced from the sudden burning pain of an open chest wound. 

“H- How did this happen?” Ginyu bellowed “What even-?!”

Goku happily plummeted back to the ground, hitting the dirt with a loud  _ thud,  _ causing Rosemary to flinch. At the sight of him crashing down as hard as he did beside her, Rosemary's eyes widened. SHe immediately crouched over to check on him.

"Ah, I'm back to being me again…" Goku he managed to say, the breath knocked out of him from the fall. He gave Rosemary a tired wink. “Trust me a little, would ya?”

‘Unbelievable.’ Rosemary commented to herself, peeved. ‘A fall like that and he doesn’t even care.’

"Sure," Rosemary told him stiffly, then looked back up to the sky. "But we’re not done here." 

She watched as Ginyu went in for yet another body swap attempt, the same beam of light encroaching on Vegeta now. She prayed that he wouldn’t face the same fate as Goku had.

"You know, I think I got this one, too." Goku told her with a short chuckle, a strange frog-like creature crawling around on his chest. “This is gonna be great.”

Careful not to scare it away, he grabbed the frog and lobbed it with everything he could muster towards the fight above. Rosemary followed the path of the creature, amazed.

'What an arm he's got, even being as tired as he is…' she admitted to herself in wonder.

As she watched the frog slip into the trajectory of the blow, she squinted her eyes as the beam of light came into contact with it, the light spreading rapidly in all directions for just a moment. After the blast had disappeared, she spotted both the frog and Ginyu fall to the ground. She held her breath, watching with hopefully.

Ginyu let out a strange croak. 

At the sound of the noise, Rosemary’s careful gaze relaxed. A massive smile curling up, she burst out into hysterical laughter along with Goku. 

Confused, Vegeta eyed the two of them down below, still not entirely sure what had happened. He tugged at his clothes to make sure he was still himself in disbelief. Something interfered with the body transfer. He couldn’t see what it was before he was blinded by the contact of the blast.

Rosemary’s voice must have jumped an octave just then as she continued to crack up down below.

'Add her stupid laugh to the list.' Vegeta thought as he descended to join them. Walking over, he awkwardly watched as Rosemary buckled over in hysterics, whatever it was that just happened seemed to really get her going.

“The hell are you on about?” he finally asked.

Rosemary tried to catch her breath to explain, wiping a tear that managed to escape her eyes, immediately followed by hunching over again in helpless laughter. This was the best thing she’d seen in years, she couldn’t contain herself for the life of her. 

Vegeta crossed his arms, annoyed. “Speak, Rosemary!”

Rosemary pointed over to the frog as she struggled to compose herself again. Tracing her direction, confused, Vegeta found himself looking at it dully.

The frog’s glossy eyes stared back up at him, as if it knew exactly who he was and had some kind of sentience. It refused to move from it’s spot, as if it had been expecting something out of Vegeta as they continued to stare each other down. It was at that moment, that he finally clued in that he was now staring at Ginyu.

“You- You’ve got to be joking.” Vegeta stuttered, looking back to an uncontrollably giddy Rosemary for guidance, but got none. “You’re not joking.”

Rosemary shook her head, still giggling but finally calming down. “Nope!”

Vegeta looked around for Ginyu’s old body, to find it hopping around near the ocean. He approached it steadily, trying not to frighten it away like the animal he knew this body now was.

"What a shame.” he told it smugly, holding out an arm to start charging another energy blast. 

He blasted Ginyu’s old body into oblivion, then went over to the frog, who continued to watch him blandly. Standing immediately in front of it now, he gave it a hateful glare, almost unsatisfied with the idea that Ginyu was going to die in such a quick and painless manner. Rosemary, who had watched him carry out his work mercilessly and thanklessly, turned around to face him with crossed arms.

"You know,” she interrupted his business assertively. “Had it not been for Goku's, hmm…  _ surprisingly quick thinking _ , you would have been trapped in that wretched body yourself..."

‘As if I care about that.’ 

Vegeta squashed the frog quickly under his foot, its internal organs spilling out under the sole of his boot accompanied by some sloppy squishing sounds. Grossed out enough to nearly faint, Rosemary turned away to breathe heavily and ignore it.

"It doesn't matter anymore, now, does it?" he shot back, turning to face her with an eyebrow raised and a cocky smirk. Her sickly expression unwavering, he turned his grin into a pout. 

Rosemary rolled her eyes.

"I suppose not," she replied half-heartedly. "All that's left to take care of is Frieza…"

Vegeta cocked his head to the side slightly.

"If I didn't know any different," he sighed, "You’re just scared, rightfully so. It’s not impossible to handle Frieza in our current state, I’m more powerful now than I ever have been!”  
Rosemary’s eyes widened in shock. He truly thought he could take Frieza on his own? Unbelievable.

"You’re starting to think recklessly again.” Rosemary pointed out. “You’re not fighting Frieza by yourself, only a fool makes a statement like that.”

"Then you can stay away if you’re so worried, but I’m killing him, by myself, with my own two hands." he replied. “And that’s an order.”

Rosemary shook her head. She fully understood the growing tension in the air, their fate being decided in just a few more moves on the board. She wanted Frieza gone as much as everyone else, but she worried more for his safety above all, her own aside. She wanted the best for him, it was her job to care for him, had Vegeta forgotten? This man was about to get himself killed for the sake of his… pride? His arrogance was unfathomable, and she was through with her counsel being a second thought, especially since him, of all people, put her in this position.

She needed to pull all the stops out for this one, and she hated it.

The arms that she respectfully kept at her sides at all times arched as she placed her hands on her hips assertively. Her pin-straight posture perished as she dominantly threw a hip out to one side. The head that she made a point of holding high lowered slightly to a more direct and confrontational level, to more accurately display the angry scowl that planned to attack Vegeta’s ego, and maybe, his heart. She knew everything about this was completely disrespectful, but she was serious and she needed him to see it.

“I refuse to go back to living as a captive, even more so due to your failure.”

Vegeta’s jaw dropped open. 

Goku’s jaw dropped open.

The universe must have fallen still just then.

Vegeta seethed as he took in the weight of her words, such pure defamation. DId she not trust him or have faith that he would protect her? His face burned furiously, and his blood boiled like nothing he’d felt for quite some time. His knuckles were white with hatred, and most importantly, his pride was damaged, no, demolished. ‘How  _ DARE  _ she challenge me like this.’ his inner voice screamed. The desire to form every curse word under Namek’s four suns clawed at the forefront of his thoughts. ‘This woman has some real nerve, defying me, such actions typically cost a life.’ He wanted to smash something, no, smash  _ her _ , and nothing was stopping him from taking a real good swing. He wondered if she would fight him on that too.

This woman,  _ his  _ woman _ ,  _ with her cold and intensely sharp eyes, deeply mortified him the longer he looked at them. Something about her expression unexplainably rattled him. She was never one to openly display anger, or rebellion for that matter. What had he done to achieve such a feat? 

The thought of being unreliable to her, along with her need to destroy her immaculate track record ate away at him annoyingly. He almost felt guilty.

The more he thought about it, the mere thought, the sudden desire to hurt her, was shameful. Yes, that was it. She had brought him to shame just then. 

Perhaps that was the point. 

‘How in the hell does she make me feel like this.’

He loosened his fists. He was acting irresponsibly.

Rosemary continued to focus him down, patiently waiting for some kind of audible acknowledgement. She watched Vegeta’s face turned many shades of red, yet he didn’t utter a single sound. It must have taken everything in his power not to react, to display some sort of outlash, and through it, she found a new kind of respect for him. While it was satisfying to see the exact effect she was going for, she only imagined how painful it must have been. She truly damaged him just then, while it was for their own sake, she felt incredibly sorry for it. She couldn’t remember a time where she’s ever hurt the prince, it was her duty to ensure that it simply didn’t occur.

She wasn’t sure how much longer she could bear to see him like this. She intended to do her job, and she did, but it was tugging at her heart in a way she found uncomfortable.

Rosemary stood up straight once again, diverting her gaze away from him. Noticing her finally ease up, Vegeta gave a grudging heave.

"There you have it." She firmly declared. "You’re not going alone."

"...Fine." Vegeta snapped.


	7. Anguish

**_Chapter Seven - Anguish_ **

 

Four out of the seven Dragon Balls in arms, Krillin anxiously landed down on the edge of the water, his eyes immediately covering the area on the lookout for Vegeta, ready for whatever fire was about to come his way. The first thing that caught his eye was Frieza’s ship - it was in complete ruin, he assumed whatever fight happened between the remaining Ginyu Force had finished off what was left of it. Looking around further, he spotted Rosemary but no Vegeta  _ or _ Goku, the fact that she was still present among the group was a good find at least. Perhaps nothing too horrible happened while he was gone.

As much as he wanted to get home in one piece, he just couldn’t trust Vegeta when it came to his life. The Saiyan was very powerful and was probably the group’s best hope for escape aside from Goku, sure, but Vegeta’s extreme lust for murder was enough to deter anyone in their right mind from teaming with him in a heartbeat. The minute Vegeta caught on that he’d just tried to steal the Dragon Balls from him, he was a goner. The man was likely going to challenge him the instant he got back from wherever he was for trying to take from right under his nose.

Concluding that Vegeta and Goku must have been elsewhere, he put on a more relaxed expression for the time being and quietly regrouped with Rosemary.

Rosemary gave him what could have passed as a steady but cautious stare of confusion, her eyes almost rhythmically drifting between him and the Dragon Balls he had tucked away under his arms. He awkwardly took her attention in, dismissing it for the time being. At least Rosemary was less likely to kill him.

Gohan followed not far behind with the other three balls to complete the set, his head lowered in shame. He was never on board with the idea of stealing the Dragon Balls away, especially now that he had been bringing them back after taking them. It looked terrible on him, already noticing the weird look Rosemary had been giving Krillin - he hadn’t planned to betray her like he had, she was too kind, too for him to do such a thing.

She definitely had questions.

Choosing to keep to herself as she pieced together potential scenarios that would have led to the need to relocate the Dragon Balls, she continued to observe Krillin and Gohan’s behaviour in silence.

‘These two have been acting strangely as of late…’ Rosemary told herself with growing concern. ‘Did they not trust Vegeta enough to keep the Dragon Balls around while we were gone?’

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer. If Vegeta couldn’t be trusted, was the only reason this group stayed around for the sake of their chances of survival? It wasn’t a huge surprise that Vegeta was extraordinarily gifted with strength and wit, but it was clear that they knew who he was before the events on Namek. Gods, she wished Vegeta would explain what he’d been up to all this time, it would make everything make so much more sense.

The Namekian child from earlier, Dende, was the last to join them, neglecting to slow down as he landed and scurried over to everyone in a hurry.   
Gohan was growing antsier by the second. This was it, their victory was going to be so much closer now.

“Alright, let’s bring back our friends!” he cheered ecstatically. 

“Our time here is running thin, for sure...” Rosemary commented, a familiar menacing wall of energy beginning to haunt her senses. There were more people coming to help? She questioned if it would truly be of help to them at that moment, Frieza was the most powerful being in the universe, entire armies weren’t enough to bring the tyrant to an end. This group must be quite confident in themselves and for the sake of getting off the planet alive and well, she was willing to put faith in them for now.

“Yeah,” Gohan followed up. "Frieza’s coming, no doubt about it."

Krillin reluctantly grunted.

"Yeah, that’s him, all right, we ran into him earlier." Krillin joined in. "Hey, uh, since we’re about to get into some serious business, where'd Vegeta and Goku go, Rosemary? They were here with you, weren’t they?"

Rosemary sighed, still guilty about her dig at Vegeta earlier. It wasn’t often that she hit a sore spot on him, but she knew there were times where it needed to be done and the situation would have gotten  out of hand if she hadn’t stepped in.

"They were." Rosemary quickly answered. "Vegeta, well, I, um... I hit a big nerve of his while you were away... I think it’s best that he has some space to cool off, it was awful of me..." she straightened up in an attempt to stay optimistic - Vegeta wouldn’t miss a fight even if the universe was ending. "As for Goku, he got pretty banged up while fighting the Ginyus, so he’s healing in a rejuvenation tank in the ship while we have a moment.” she gave a firm nod. “I’m sure the instant that the Dragon has been summoned, Vegeta will come back. He’s not one to leave ‘business’, as you call it, unsettled."

Dende whipped his arms out towards the cluster of Dragon Balls on the ground and began to chant away in his Namekian tongue. The rest of the group watched attentively while Rosemary slightly backed away, unsure of what to think about the situation. She didn't know what to expect next, the talk of dragons was starting to rouse her and she couldn’t tell if it was a positive or negative energy she was getting. She’d never seen a dragon before, weren’t they supposed to be malevolent and vicious beings? She prayed that Gohan and Krillin knew what they were doing by summoning such a thing. What was Vegeta’s plan for the Dragon Balls, she wondered, if these objects were capable of reviving the dead, was he planning to bring back the Saiyan race? 

And more importantly, if Vegeta didn’t get back in time, would these people leave him hanging?

The Dragon Balls began to glow brightly, a bright silhouette of a huge figure emerging out of them with a gentle hum throughout the orbs. Jumping back with a frightful yelp in shock, Rosemary looked up to a pitch black sky to see a massive, fat, green dragon now solidifying itself in the air above them. The Dragon towered above the group in such a way that no building ever could, not even the Royal Palace seemed to put as large a mark in the sky as this Dragon did so effortlessly.

"P-Pardon me…” she let out a nervous sigh. “This is all so new to me... This is the Dragon?" Rosemary asked, tilting her head slightly as she got a better look at it. From her readings, she always perceived dragons as thin but long, omnipotent creatures - contrary to her studies, however, this dragon had a stubby tail and a large gut that she couldn’t bring herself to take seriously, perhaps it could afford to be put to work more than it had been.

She received silent nods from both Gohan and Krillin. 

Rosemary hopelessly shrugged.

"I guess I was expecting something a bit more, well, sleek." she finished with an awkward smile.

Krillin folded his arms to think it over.

"Well, I'll be honest with you," he responded, his head up to the sky to observe. "Earth's dragon is much slimmer than this one…" he paused at the thought, shrugging now as well. "I guess they vary depending on the planet, I dunno."

The Dragon boomed before them in a language that they couldn’t decipher. Krillin tilted his head in disappointment.

"It speaks Namekian, too?" Krillin commented.

"Well, it makes sense," Rosemary told him, still stunned in place as she gawked upward, unsure if she should be more frightened or happier than she was - the level of uncertainty she had moving forward was greatly intimidating. She couldn’t remember a time where she had been so clueless. "It is Namek’s dragon, after all, one would only assume it speaks Namek’s language, right?"

"The Dragon says that it will give you any three wishes!" Dende told them quickly. 

Everyone’s eyes widened, awestruck.

"Wow!" Krillin blurted out. " _ Three?! _ I’m used to only getting one, this is great!”

"Just hurry!" Gohan told him sternly. 

Stay quiet as the rest of the group handled the situation, Rosemary observed everything in absolute fascination. She noted the dark clouds swirling around in the sky as Dragon pierced through them, as well as the divine aura that had been glowing mystically among it all. It felt like she had been in the presence of a god, she had no idea what to do or how to think, it was something she could never imagine witnessing in her lifetime. And yet, everyone else was acting like it was just another day, everything at that moment was so  _ bizarre. _

"Uh, alright, well, let’s bring back our friends!" Krillin responded in a hurry.

Dende frowned.

"But, Porunga can only bring back one person at a time…" Dende trailed off, awkwardly fiddling around with his fingers.

Rosemary sighed. Her theory of the return of the Saiyans was gone as fast as it had formed - it would take eons to revive the entire planet’s worth of civilization, but what about bringing back a select few?  
Gohan felt something pierce through his mind just then. 

" _ Listen! _ " a familiar deep voice surged, to his surprise. " _ If you bring me back, that brings Kami back as well. Use Earth's Dragon Balls to do the rest, don’t worry about everything else for now. _ "

‘Hey, you know, that’s a great idea! Thanks, Piccolo, you’re the best!’ Gohan thought in response.  
"Alright." Gohan replied to the group. "Hey, Krillin, let’s bring Piccolo back!"

Able to pick up on Gohan’s plan with ease, Krillin gave Dende a nod of approval, and the child began to converse with the Dragon once again. As if in response, the Dragon’s red eyes began to shine brightly, following up with a thunderous roar.

Both Gohan and Krillin looked around the area, expecting Piccolo to miraculously show up beside them, but no sign of him appeared.

Rosemary blinked a few times in confusion.

"Perhaps I just don’t know any better," she joined in, "But this Piccolo you speak of... He’s not here."

"Well you see,” Dende went on to explain. “When you revive someone with the Dragon, they’re brought back to life in the exact place that they died, wherever that is." Dende explained to the group. "I'm guessing that would be Earth."

"Alright, then, bring him to Namek!" Krillin impatiently retorted.

"Your wish has been granted." The Dragon exploded in return.

"So, he understands English, after all." Rosemary remarked, still scanning the area, unable to find any noticeable changes "But, um… He's still not here?"

"He is on Namek." Dende assured her from over his shoulder. "When it comes to saying what you want, you need to be specific, the Dragon won’t do more work than it has to." He turned back to the Dragon Balls. "Anyways, what's your third-"

Just then, the group of Dragon Balls had lost their glow and stoned over. Rosemary looked at them in confusion, then shyly took to Dende’s side.

"Is…" she began. "Is this supposed to happen? I only counted two wishes..."

"No." Dende told her firmly, thinking hard. He finally realized something after a few moments, and bowed his head. "It means that something has happened to Lord Guru. He must have died, or been killed."

"Oh no!" Gohan woefully moaned. "How are we supposed to save your people?"  
"I’m... still not sure." Dende mumbled.

"This isn't looking good at all, you guys…" Rosemary told them, troubled. "If one of us gets killed, we can all be fatally impacted by it…" she had thought about Goku, who had went into a rejuvenation tank back at the ship after the fight with Ginyu. She could easily predict that he would need more time to heal. "And with Goku still healing, the chances of us winning this battle are very slim right now…"

"With that attitude, perhaps." Vegeta mockingly shouted at her.  
Rosemary turned around at the sound of his voice, to find Vegeta posing gallantly and looking down on them from atop a cliff. Managing a small smile of relief, she pointed to him over her shoulder.

"Told you." She chuckled towards the group as Vegeta descended and marched over. Suspicious, he silently cocked an eyebrow.

"Told them what, exactly?" yet another voice chimed in.

The very air grew cold and stiff with its presence.

Vegeta whipped around immediately, to find Frieza standing behind them atop the same cliff he had just stood with a hard stare. "No please, I'm willing to listen."

Rosemary followed Vegeta's gaze nervously, to find that sure enough, the infamous lord had indeed finally made his way back to the ship to finish what he’d started. The two of shared a quiet moment of dread and fear as they took in his authoritative stance.

'Oh man,' she frantically thought 'I was hoping it wouldn't be this soon… I just got some free time, this isn’t good…’

Frieza was staring down right at her, a slight but potent scowl on his face.

"It's interesting to see that you have somehow managed to survive on your own, Rosemary." He coolly called over, his scowl curling into a sly grin. "With such a miniscule power level, I wasn’t sure if you’d make it. It would appear that I haven't been giving you enough credit."

Rosemary blinked in confusion. All she could do is go along with him, it seemed.

"I-I’m not sure I know what you mean, sir." Rosemary responded politely, straightening her posture to keep her typical level of etiquette. 

'If I can't fight, I might as well make it look like I mean no harm...'

"Oh, nothing too crazy," Frieza replied to her smugly. "Your abilities that so  _ magically _ appeared out of nowhere have been flooding my reports today. Either my scientists are stupid or you’re just very clever.” He shot Krillin and Gohan a nasty grin, causing the both of them to shoot up where they stood. “But enough about that, I see you’ve made some friends."

Vegeta nervously shifted his attention to Rosemary, now standing beside him in what he assumed was out of her own fear. He hated that Rosemary had no chance of success if she tried to fight against Frieza - if she took even a single hit, she could be killed in an instant, but they needed every ounce of power they could get their hands on at the moment. 

Frieza had noticed Vegeta's heavy look of concern from the distance.

"And of course," Frieza continued mockingly, waving a hand out towards Vegeta. "The Prince has finally found you, or rather, I suppose I should say he’s finally gotten past my aversion to letting that happen." He let out a sinister chuckle. "Perhaps I should kill you first and see how your beloved Vegeta takes to it, hmm?"

As he finished his address, he made a savage dash towards her. Frozen in horror, Rosemary stood completely still. Despite being able to see him advance on her through every inch of movement, his speed, the way he controlled those around him with his raw power was enough to make anyone hesitant to do much of anything.

"Get down!" Vegeta yelled at her, taking a quick leap to smack her to the ground as he took the first punch. “What the hell are you doing?!”

"Ouch!" Rosemary yelped as her shoulder smashed against the dirt, the residual aching from Zarbon’s hit earlier now amplified as she lay there glaring up at the two of them. 

These two were incredible fighters. Being so up close to the fight, she observed the rate at which kicks and punches were being thrown at each other - absolutely extraordinary. Could she really contend with Frieza and Vegeta at a time like this?

"Holding him still for a few seconds is  _ not  _ going to kill him, Rosemary!" he hissed, dodging a rally of punches and kicks, overexerting his cunning as he narrowly evaded every blow. Leaving her on the ground, Vegeta took to the air along with Frieza, hovering mere feet above her face. 

Rosemary made a concealed attempt to get up, to find that her arm now intensely burned as she lifted herself off the ground. Giving up after a strained grunt of pain, she flopped back to the ground with a gentle thud.

‘Vegeta really wounded me... Did he  _ break _ something?!’ she angrily bickered to herself. ‘But... I can’t just sit here like this!’

"No, I need to at least try!" she snapped back, springing herself up between the two of them with a swing of her legs. To her surprise, she managed to land a solid kick to Frieza's jaw from below, sending him flying a few feet higher into the air. Finally able to get some space, she quickly touched down to the ground on foot, brushing herself off with a few deep breaths. ‘Gods, I’m probably going to die for it but that was so cool…’

She couldn’t waste time standing around, however, this was it - this was the very fight that would determine if she lived on peacefully in freedom or died before she could experience life as a grown woman, and she vowed to come out of it alive.

A firm nod to herself, she took to the sky and tossed her arms out in front of her to get ready to engage. Once she brought them to the level of her chest, she could feel her right arm begging her to rest, but she pressed on. 

After another heavy exhales, she cleared her mind and went to work. Locking eyes with Frieza down below, she worked to contain his energy to the confines of his body to get a hold of him. Almost as if she needed to shove a large amount of substance into such a tiny space, she began to feel resistance from him. To her convenience, however, Frieza’s power was much simpler to search around for.

‘Maybe it would have been simpler if I had started my training on Frieza…’ she pondered, crinkling her nose as she began to struggle. ‘It took me no time at all to focus on him because of his ridiculous power…’

With a final mental push to restrain Frieza, she took hold of him and tightened her grip with a stressed whimper. 

As if something had grabbed him just then, Frieza squirmed to nudge it away, but couldn’t move.

Rosemary could tell he was resisting, slightly nauseated as the pressure on her head shifted ever so slightly. Taking yet another deep breath, she hardened her hold on him a little further until she stopped him from moving around.

'Wow, he's surprisingly light…' she told herself in disbelief as Frieza grew still once again. 'This might be easier than I originally thought.'

Concentrating only on Frieza up until now, she hadn't noticed that Vegeta had retreated to the ground to recover. She questioned if he was hurt from the few hits he’d taken from Frieza to her defense, perhaps she should try and heal him when she had a moment.

Making a few adjustments to her plan, she prepared to make her first move.

"Hey, Vegeta!" she called down to him with a tiny smile of confidence, launching Frieza down towards him with a throwing motion of her left. "Catch!"

"Ah- _ ah _ , not so fast." Frieza retorted, chucking a high-powered energy blast her way as he plummeted against his will.

Unfazed, Rosemary took a simple hop to the side to dodge the attack, unknowingly releasing her hold on Frieza in the process.

Much to his plan, Frieza suddenly didn’t feel as heavy as he had just moments ago. Able to move around freely again, his face distorted into a massive grin.

‘SIlly  _ monkey _ , you have much to learn.’

He turned himself around and planted a pointed foot into Vegeta’s chest as he completed his fall.

Frustrated as much as he was now in agony, Vegeta wasn’t quite able to react in time to block the kick to his gut. Curling over slightly, he grimaced as he took yet another blow, not only because of his own shortcoming, but because of Rosemary’s errors - now wasn’t the time to be experimenting. In fact, he would have much rathered she fled instead.

"I'm disappointed in you, Vegeta," Frieza teased. "She's doing better than you and she’s got just a tiny fraction of your power."

Unaware that she was approaching quickly behind him, Rosemary successfully landed another powerful kick to Frieza's head, stunning him in place but left him undamaged. 

"Surprise." Rosemary taunted back with a smirk, kicking his head again with her free leg, knocking him forward another few feet. 

Vegeta could practically feel the impact of her feet as they collided with the side of Frieza’s skull and flinched accordingly. 

'So she does have some strength in her...' He told himself. 'It’s not much, but it’s  _ something. _ '

The relief from her was great, but he couldn’t put aside the fact that she was being extremely risky with her decisions. Such behaviour was so unlike her, had she thought these through before she committed to such an attack? She’d left herself completely vulnerable as she went in for every hit. 

‘If she keeps going like this, she’s bound to be punished eventually.’

Frieza slid back a few feet from another forceful kick as Rosemary pursued him further. Vegeta finally retreated to observe the fight closer.

'Where is this  _ power _ of hers coming from?!' Vegeta carried on quietly, puzzled, watching her in disbelief as she continued to fearlessly challenge Frieza head-on. 

Something was wrong.

Trying to get a better sense of Rosemary’s life force, he could feel her energy dwindle rapidly. 

‘Damn it, she’s extremely inefficient with her energy…’ he pondered further.

Her attacks began to slow now, it was clear that she was exhausting herself too quickly.

‘To think she hadn’t had much energy to begin with... Paired with her lack of experience, I’m surprised she’s managed to last this long.’

Still fighting, Rosemary’s whole body ached. Initiating a solo attack was a mistake for sure -  moving in ways she hadn’t been able to in ages, as well exerting herself to her limits for the sake of survival just wasn’t going to cut it for much longer. 

Getting in one final kick before she retreated, she spun around as fast as she could and stomped Frieza to the ground with a pointed heel, leaving a small dent in the dirt he finally made contact with the ground. Reluctant to leaving the fight at that, she hopped off of his head, flipping backwards and away from him.

Her fatigue forced her to a kneel. DIsappointed, she took the time to reflect and catch her breath.

“I… I can’t give up this easily, can I?” she huffed in a tired moan. 

She was definitely sick to her stomach now.

Gohan and Krillin couldn’t help but hesitate to get involved, standing aside with jaws worriedly hanging open in both shock and surprise. Krillin had been the first to doubt her condition out of the two, managing a wince as he observed her heavily panting for air. 

‘Is this the same girl we met earlier?’ he speculated. ‘I get that this is do or die, but I dunno if I agree with her choices…’

Rosemary’s vision blurred. She placed a hand on her forehead, a strange lightness fluttering around in the corners of her sight. 

‘It’s truly shameful how weak I am.’ 

After a few more laboured breaths, her eyes fell shut and her body collapsed, slowly tilting sideways as the knee she leaned on gave out. 

With Vegeta now busy handling Frieza in her place, Gohan and Krillin immediately switched to high alert.

"Crap!" Krillin cried out, making a break for it and dove underneath of her just in time to break her fall. ‘Man, this girl is all kinda weird, she’s gotta learn to control her ki better!’ 

He plopped himself down in the dirt to get a closer look at her. To his relief, she took slow but hard breaths, but showed no sign of consciousness.

"She... fainted?!" he shifted his focus over to Vegeta, hoping that he’d get some insight from him, but got none as Vegeta carried on with his fight. He chose not to think to heavily about it, the man was clearly busy. "What the heck just happened?!”

Gohan scurried over to Krillin with a grim expression, kneeling down beside him to take a quick look at Rosemary. She seemed stable enough to let her rest.

“I’m gonna take her to where Dad is.” he joined in with a stern tone. “She’s not going to be able to do much else for now.”

Krillin gave a small nod, allowing Gohan to pick her up and run into the ship

 

…

 

Emerging on Namek, Piccolo grudgingly took in the scenery - this place definitely wasn’t the planet Earth that he remembered.

Being on Namek wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he said to bring him back. Frustrated, he gave the ground a good kick.

"Fools!" he shouted to the empty air, looking up at the green sky with a hard stare. "They didn't have to bring me _ here _ to get killed with them!"

 

. . .

 

“Come on, kid, if you’re going to try and heal me, it can’t take this long!” Vegeta snapped at Dende with a pained but belligerent groan.

Leaned over Vegeta’s now severely wounded structure, Dende continued to hold his shaky arms out over him as he worked away at closing several punctures and lesions.

“It’s not that simple, sir! I’m trying my best!” the child cried, harsh with fatigue as he transferred all of his energy into his work.

Dende was attempting to heal Vegeta after a nearly fatal blow to his chest, had just been killed by Frieza mercilessly, with Piccolo now among the group of fighters.

"Dende!" Gohan cried out, tears forming as his eyes stung with pain. He desperately looked up to Piccolo, who had went over to examine Dende’s body. "Can you heal him, Piccolo?"

"I don't know," Piccolo told him sadly. "Probably not."

Gohan bowed his head mournfully and sobbed.

"Gohan," Piccolo continued, "There was a girl with you, wasn’t there? Where is she?"

"Rosemary?" Gohan asked to clarify, "I brought her back to the ship where my dad is healing so she could use it after."

"She’s not hurt, it won’t do anything." Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms grudgingly. "She collapsed, there’s a difference, those healing tanks are for critical,  _ physical  _ injuries. She'll be fine once she wakes up, she was reckless and completely depleted her energy!"

"How long will that take?" Piccolo asked him firmly. "We don't exactly have time to be wasting."

"I  _ know _ that!" Vegeta shouted back at him angrily. "Her powers are not something I come across every day, you know! I’m blind to them as much as you are!"

 

. . .

 

Rosemary snapped awake, realizing that she hadn’t fallen asleep on her own terms. She got up from the floor of the ship she’d been placed on in an instant and looked around in a dazed frenzy. She was back at Frieza's ship, one of the infirmary rooms in particular from what she could tell. 

"What am I doing here?" she asked herself, whining as she stirred, then remembered quickly. "Wait, Goku!" she blurted out, whipping around to see Goku in one of the healing tanks behind her, hovering lifelessly in the fluids of the vessel as the nutrient-rich and intricately chemical liquid ran its course over his body. 

As she slowly came to, there were several loud booms from outside. No doubt in her mind, the battle against Frieza was still going.

More impatient by the second as she took in the droning hum of the machine, she examined the rejuvenation tank to determine its specifications.

"One of the older models…" she told herself as she went and instinctively looked around the room, to find newer versions, along with several beds and life support devices, all damaged beyond repair. "This is likely Vegeta's doing… Gosh, I wish he would think before he does things!" she turned her attention back to Goku in the tank, stroking the industrial glass window of the machine. "I need you to hurry up in there, Goku! Please!"

She proceeded to pace the room in thought, reflecting on her own battle with Frieza not too long ago. The ship was eerily silent - she briefly wondered as to why there were no men stationed within the ship while everything had been happening elsewhere. She assumed that they were all killed at one point by Vegeta as well. She shook her head irritably, frustrated the mess she knew she was in. She truly was backed into a corner yet again - she was too weak to defend herself, but if she didn’t assist in the battle, she might as well have assumed defeat.

She was beginning to understand why Vegeta hated losing so much - there was something shameful about being vulnerable, and it was cloud her emotions.

She clapped her hands swiftly on her cheeks to scold herself. She couldn’t afford to be emotionally unsound right now, lives were at stake!

She gave a reluctant sigh.

"Well, seeing as though I'm here…" she mumbled, eyeing a dented but intact metal storage unit nearby. "I might as well get some new clothes…” she looked down at herself - even after fixing up her suit, the fabric had been in tatters. “These really are past their time…"

She went over to the unit quickly, snapping a look every so often back at Goku to check if he was coming to, then grabbed the smallest dark grey tight suit she could find, as well as a new chest plate after rummaging through all of the suits in the closet. After countless journeys around the ship over the years that she’d been stationed there, she wasn’t in the least surprised to find there were no plates for women.

'Of course not,' she thought, annoyed. 'There never is, why would that suddenly change… My brain is really slipping because of all of this, it seems...'

She slipped into the tights with care and gazed at the chest plate hesitantly before attempting to put it on, giving it a heavy huff of resentment.

'This was always the worst part.' She thought to herself, loathingly taking the chest plate into her grasp and lifting it above her head to slide it on. As always, she wrestled with it to get it past her shoulders, and then her bust… These plates weren’t designed to stretch the ways that she’d been forcing it to - women simply had dimensions to their bodies that men didn’t have to deal with. 

Giving it a final pull, she grudgingly held her breath and whimpered as the plate squeezed against her on it’s way down, finally resting just above her hips and sitting snugly over her shoulders. She exhaled after her small success, the stiff plate pinching her airways as her breasts fought for space to breathe.

Putting on a new set of white gloves and matching white boots, she paced the room with large movements of her arms and strides of her legs to break in the new suit. Such a ritual wasn’t a stranger to her - while the discomfort of improperly designed clothes left her with a bitter hatred towards changing, there was something satisfying about putting on a brand new set of tights. 

She went back over to Goku’s tank to try and catch a glimpse of herself in the damaged glass. Able to make out a brief silhouette of her body, she curiously rotated her hips to observe how her dark suit snugly hugged her curves and generously slimmed her out. 

‘Not too shabby.’ she admitted, impressed, smoothing her fingers against her left thigh in delight.

Something deadly interrupted her train of thought, subconsciously stiffening her body into something she wasn’t sure she wanted to question.

"W-What is this..." she muttered. She dashed to the windows at the outside wall of the room to look outside - she found nothing noteworthy from this angle of the ship.

She took a deep breath and concentrated, feeling around for any information the air could give her. 

"I-Is this Frieza?!" she shook her head and cried hysterically, angrily planting a foot into the floor. "This is such a disaster, and here I am, unable to do anything! I  _ hate _ this!"

Just then, Goku’s healing tank thrummed with a new sound. Rosemary whipped around instantly as it opened, to see that Goku had been finally emerging from it. He rubbed his eyes to get the remnants of whatever was in the healing fluid out of them, and saw Rosemary standing before him with a pained look across her face. She was wearing new clothes, did she shrink or was the darker shade more revealing of her actual form?

"Rosemary?" he called out in confusion. "Hey, looking good! But... I thought you fainted?"

"I did, but-" she paused, eyes wide. She tilted her head in suspicion. "Wait, how did you know I fainted if you've been in there?!"

Goku tapped the side of his head with a cheeky smile.

"King Kai told me." He explained with a wink. 

Rosemary binked hard, clueless.

"I don’t know who this King Kai is," she began, flustered "But I don't believe it’s important right now… Listen, I have a feeling that Frieza is powering up, he has several forms, you see… For all we know, all of the others could be dead by now!"

"They're not." Goku assured her confidently. "You just passed out, that's all. Calm down a little, would ya? I know you’re frazzled, but if we’re gonna fight, we can’t freeze up."

"Oh, and I suppose King Kai told you that, too?" she shot back irritably.

" _ Yes, I did _ ." King Kai's voice surged into her head, making her flinch. " _ And you're awake now, so we're back on track,  _ stop wasting time _! _ "

Absolutely dumbfounded, Rosemary surveyed the room to figure out where this new voice came from, nodding in confirmation after discovering it was for naught.

"Right!" she replied firmly, skyrocketing out of the ship, accompanied by Goku at her side for a short time. “I’m not seeing anyone around, they must have moved elsewhere to keep the attention off of us.” 

Goku threw an arm out in front of him as they flew onward.

“This insane energy is coming from that way.” he explained.

With a simple nod, she grew her lead on him. 

From behind, Goku caught a glimpse of a red shiny object that peeked out from under her new suit. She looked over her shoulder to make sure he was still nearby, and slowed steadily to let him catch up with her, noticing his eyes were fixed on her collar.

"Doesn't that get in the way?” Goku asked her curiously, pointing at the pendant flapping about on its gold chain. “You know, that stone you’re wearing.."

Rosemary fell back to regroup, clutching the stone to stop it from slapping against her, tucking it back into her chest plate after some struggling with it.

"I suppose I should tell you that haven't been one to fight until  _ very _ recently," she explained to him, swearing that she had mentioned it already but chose to put it past her. "I never have been, I’m different than the average Saiyan… As well, I've been, er…  _ closely monitored _ by one of Frieza's top men for quite some time now, and locked up in countless holding cells before that." She coolly placed her arms back at her sides with as they continued to fly on. "It means a lot to me, it was a very special gift."

"It must have quite the meaning if you're wearing it at a time like this." Goku replied.

Rosemary gave him a firm nod, looking ahead once more. Watching her grow tense as they carried on, a playful grin snuck its way across his cheeks.

"So, you think still he's up for it?"

Stunned by the question, Rosemary’s eyes widened.

"I’m not sure I understand..."

"That was from  _ Vegeta _ , wasn’t it?" Goku teased her. Rosemary’s glare hardened, perhaps she was more like Vegeta, after all, she didn’t seem to like being the target of mockery, either.

“It was.” she answered sternly. “What of it?”

“Well, he’s not one for gifts, you know.” he playfully giggled.

"Y-You think so?" she stammered, bashfully turning her face away. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”

"Oh, come  _ on _ !" Goku nudged her further "He had a thing for you, it’s so obvious! You can’t tell me you haven’t thought even a little bit about it!"

"To know something is based on facts!" she snapped back, ducking her head into her shoulder, humiliated. “That’s quite a statement you’re trying to make… It could very well have been just a sentimental gift. Vegeta never used to be  _ nearly _ as cold as he is now."

Eyes forward, the two of them had found the fight in due time. From a far away glance, everyone was in rough shape, but Rosemary was thankful that everyone had still been alive.

"This is it, Goku, and please  _ believe  _ it when I say it this time!" Rosemary told him in a serious tone. “Frieza is leaps and bounds above Captain Ginyu, he’s the most powerful being this universe has ever encountered.”

"Alright, alright, calm down," Goku hushed her. “Like I said, don’t let it get to your head.”


	8. Desperation

**_Chapter Eight - Desperation_ **

Assessing the situation in front of her as she returned to the battle alongside Goku, Rosemary dashed over to Vegeta, who had looked to have retreated to some long grass to recover slightly. He was pretty banged up - a huge gash across his right shoulder, noticeable lacerations across his chest that had managed to make it through his armour, she marveled at how quickly he’d gone from near perfectly intact to severely maimed. And yet, despite all of it, he was alive, conscious, and seemingly unphased. What a man Vegeta was shaping out to be - he was going to be a handful to deal with for sure after everything was said and done.

Rosemary examined his scratches and wounds with care, unable to find a part of him that wasn’t bruised or cut. Wiping some debris away with gentle swipes of her hand, she carefully traced her fingers over him to get a better sense of his damage.

"My gosh, Vegeta," she said in a sad whisper "You're hurt everywhere…"

Vegeta harshly coughed up a small amount of blood and spit it out away from her.

"Rose," he forced out of him painfully. "I'm  _ fine _ ."

Did he think she was an idiot?

"No, you're  _ n ot _ _!"_ she retorted sharply. "You've proved enough, quit pretending to be stronger than you are!"

"This is so sweet it’s making me  _ sick _ ." Frieza taunted from afar. "But she cares about you so much, Vegeta, let her tend to your _every whim!”_

His laughter slowed to a sinister chuckle.

“Maybe you should let her stay right by your side so you can die together, too, oh, how _fitting!"_

Mockery was not something she liked at all, yes, she could say it quite surely now. What was their relationship to Frieza, anyways?

Rosemary got up from where she had crouched as Frieza continued to laugh at them.

"Don't you mock me!" she cursed at him furiously, darting towards him again. 

Before she knew it, she was grabbed by the shoulder by Goku in a single, clean swoop of his hand. He was hoping that Vegeta would be in decent shape for when they returned, but given the condition that he and Piccolo, their next strongest fighter, was in, the situation was looking grim.

Rosemary growled angrily. What in the world was he doing?

"Hey!" she snapped as she squirmed to get free of his clutch, annoyed. "What's the deal, Goku?! I thought you wanted to stop this monster?!"

He tightened his grip on her collarbone. He couldn’t let her throw herself away like this.

"You're right." Goku told her in a serious tone, lifting her off the ground to give her a good hard look in the eyes. "I do, but I don't want you to get hurt." He frowned. "I know you’re mad, but you’re starting to think like Vegeta and act impulsively. Dealing with one of him is hard enough, and this isn’t like you at all."

Rosemary’s hands curled into tight fists as she hung by his clutch.

"Would you put me  _ down _ , I’m no  _ play thi ng _ _!_ I'm  _ trying _ to help you!" she replied, writhing to loosen his grip. " I came here to take care of unfinished business, just like you! Please, let me help!"

Goku didn’t budge.

"Stay with everyone else." Goku gently commanded her. "Go back to our ship with the others. You’re a skilled healer, I can tell, and because of that, I need you alive. Please trust me, Rosemary, seriously. Gohan will lead the way."

Finally letting go of her, Rosemary plopped back on the ground after a small drop and a stubborn jerk of her shoulder.

"Fine." She sneered in defeat, going back over to Vegeta, her head bowed in shame. 

Did Goku really plan on fighting Frieza  _ alone _ ? Such talk was enough for her to scold Vegeta, of all people, and now this Saiyan appears from out of nowhere and suddenly demands he handle everything on his own. She wasn’t sure if Goku was insane or extremely confident in his abilities, but it frightened her all the same.

"Come," she told him miserably. "It’s your turn to use the healing machine."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes on her, doubtful.

"You can't carry me, Rosemary." Vegeta told her dryly. "Leave me be."

"No!" she shouted at him defiantly. "I’ll  _ drag _ you with what little power I have if I have to! I am  _ not  _ leaving you here to  _ die !" _

Vegeta knew that she wasn’t even capable of  _ that _ .

"You’ll  _ do _ as I  _ say _ , Rosemary!" He finally raised his voice to match hers, causing Rosemary to respond with a slight wince. Coughing once again, Vegeta growled out of frustration. “That’s an order.”

Rosemary held a silent gaze on him for a moment, questioning why he had chosen such a time to be so damn stubborn. She only assumed that he was relying on the Dragon Balls to reunite them afterwards if he had died, but it didn’t change that she was leaving her best friend, the person she swore to look after, to die alone. It directly went against her duty, but in the end, an order from the prince was an order from the prince. 

A tear escaped her stone-hard stare before she turned away.

"Y-yes, my prince." She whimpered obediently, then went over to Gohan and the rest of the group, Piccolo badly wounded as well. "We must go back to the ship, wherever that is."

"It's with Bulma." Gohan responded dryly. “It’s far, but we’ll manage.”

"Please, take me there."

Gohan nodded affirmatively, taking an unconscious Piccolo over his shoulder, and smiled. Rosemary, still upset over Vegeta’s decision, looking back at his heavily damaged body as the group of them took off, then back to the front as they finally flew away.

"Hey, just a moment," she called ahead to Gohan, noticing there was an absence from the group. "Where is Krillin?"

"Sorry, Rosemary..." Gohan told her mournfully. "While you were gone with my dad, we lost him in the fight."

Rosemary bared her teeth in anger and bowed her head.

"Damn it, Frieza!" she boomed to the air. "I hope you die a horrible death to Goku!"

 

. . .

 

Frieza held a firm glare on Goku as the two of them stared each other down intensely.

"And just  _ who _ are you, exactly?" Frieza asked him, intrigued. "You think you're all high and mighty, stopping Lady Rosemary in the middle of such a redeeming moment." He crossed his arms in thought. "You two seem awfully related given your features, should I know you from somewhere?"

Goku managed a slight grin across his readied, serious expression.

"Could be because we're both Saiyans." Goku boasted confidently. "I've been in a different neck of the woods, though."

"I suppose that’s my fault." Frieza continued. "But between you and that Namekian, I seem to be slipping in terms of wiping out races." He bluffed, then grinned cockily. "No matter, I will handle you just the same. But first," he pointed a single finger down at Vegeta, then shot a high charged energy beam right through his chest. Goku looked over his shoulder fearfully, to find him bleeding immensely from his left side.

"Vegeta!" Goku cried out angrily. "Man, Rosemary’s going to  _ hate _  me!"

"I'm still alive, you idiot!" Vegeta shouted in extreme pain, grimacing at his wounds. If he did so much as cough once again, it’d be his end. 

"Listen  _ well _ , I'm obviously not going to last much longer." he made a stifled but desperate gasp for air. "Our entire planet, our  _ people _ , were held under Frieza’s reign, understand the weight that this holds for our kind." he breathed hard once more. "Other than Rosemary,  _ you _ are,” he coughed harshly, his lungs screaming to jump out of his body - Gods, maybe he should have let Rosemary take care of him after all, knowing that he was about to die left him empty and unsatisfied with how he’d treated her since she’d found him. 

“...The only other Saiyan left. For my sake, she’d better be alive when I return, Kakarot, or I swear, I  _ will _ make it my mission to kill you."

Goku smiled. He knew Vegeta wasn’t much for positive thought or endearment, but he could tell that what he was saying was legitimate and he truly meant it - it might have been the first time he’s ever encountered this side of the Saiyan Prince.

"Right." Goku responded firmly with a nod. "She's in good hands, and she’s gonna do a great job of taking care of Piccolo, I know she is."

It was almost as if his confidence in Rosemary had soothed Vegeta just then, the warrior’s face had loosened up and his eyes closed peacefully. No doubt about it, this new woman meant a ton to him.

He watched as Vegeta had taken his last breath, and passed without a fuss. Accepting that he was on his own now, he turned back to Frieza in a newfound rage - this planet had a massive excess of unnecessary deaths, corrupted dreams and lost brethren. He’d never encountered something so disastrously repulsive in his life, and he thought that  _ Vegeta _ was evil at first.

"You won’t hurt anyone else!" Goku called over to Frieza in a stern shout. ‘It’s just you and me now.”

"Oh, really?" Frieza retorted. "And just what is a monkey like yourself going to do to stop me?"

"You'll see." Goku answered lowly. "You killed my friends, and I don’t take to that kindly!" he continued, the ground around him beginning to quiver aggressively. 

The air around them bent into heavy torrents of wind, kicking up the bodies of water into a restless fury as well. Goku’s pitch black hair furiously rustled as his eyes remained fixed on Frieza, flickering to a new, bright yellow hue.

"What's going on?!" Frieza shouted in a panic. "Yellow hair? You’re no Saiyan! Who are you?!"

Goku roared with rage, aflame with a near blinding yellow aura that wildly swirled around every inch and crevice of his body.

Frieza ogled in wonder, yet interestingly worried for his life for quite possibly the first time. Something wasn’t right about this Saiyan - as if the yellow hair wasn’t already enough to throw him off, no Saiyan should have rivaled his own power, and he had a feeling that this man might have just closed the gap on him.

"I’m going to be the one that puts an end to your torment!"

 

. . .

 

Rosemary had a bad feeling about what was going on back at the scene of the fight, frequently and anxiously looking over her shoulder to make sure that they weren’t being followed.

Despite being left with nothing of note previously, a purple laser-like beam blipped out of nowhere and quickly gained on her group to her sudden surprise.

"Damn it!" she shrieked as she leaped out of the way, pulling Gohan aside with her. The two of them narrowly escaped the blast with a heartbeat to spare. 

Gohan noted the blast as it flew by them in a flash.

"That was close…" Gohan exhaled. "Geez, Rosemary, thank goodness you have fast reflexes."

"Y-Yes..." she modestly trailed off, pausing to see if she could find Goku and Vegeta's life energy sources from where they hovered. 

After a brief moment of struggle, there was nothing to be found, leaving her disappointed and worried. 

“Gohan, may I ask you something?”

Thrown off-guard, he was left blinking cluelessly.

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“W-Well,” Rosemary shyly went on. “If Goku and Vegeta do, um, die… What do we do?”

Gohan rushed over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder while making sure that Piccolo was still positioned securely over his small, briefly toned shoulder.

"Rosemary, it's alright, I know you’re probably worried sick about Vegeta…" he told her half-heartedly, surprisingly calm despite having the same feeling of worry for his father. "We can bring him back with the Dragon Balls, everything’s going to be okay."

"But-" she managed to say through breaths, "The Dragon Balls… They were turned to stone, were they not? This is why I’m skeptical."

"Oh, well, we have Earth's Dragon Balls, too!" Gohan encouraged. "Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that sooner, I’m really not used to having someone around that’s completely new to all of this… As long as Piccolo doesn't die on the way home, we can use them when we get back! I think that’s why my dad wanted you to get away from the fight. You can stabilize him, can’t you?"

Rosemary eyed Piccolo in uncertainty. She hadn’t given him a proper look over yet - from what she could tell, the Namekian looked to be in similar shape as Vegeta had been when they had left him behind. Considering that Piccolo was unconscious, however, such damage seemed to have a greater impact on him.

"He’s in seriously critical condition," she told him. "I can try, but we need to act fast if you expect me to be able to do much!"

“Right!” 

After a few more minutes of hasty flight, Gohan, Rosemary, and Piccolo finally arrived back at the ship unharmed. 

The planet Namek started to show noticeable instability. The sky was dark with thick clouds and crackling thunder, occasionally striking the bodies of water as the group of them soared over them.

Gohan a looked around to find Bulma, who was nowhere to be seen. 

Knowing that they were supposed to be meeting someone else here, the fact that no one was here to meet them was making Rosemary grow more tense by the second.

Rosemary looked over to Gohan, hoping he had some kind of explanation for this. 

"Alright, so the ship is here," she commented. "But Bulma's not?!" she growled at Gohan, trying the best she could to remember what Bulma looked like and kept looking around. "That blue haired woman from before, right? You said she was here!"

"She was!" Gohan assured her in fright, noticing that Rosemary’s temper had been growing short - they didn’t have time to be wasting to look for someone, so she was right to be impatient. He took a deep exhale and shrugged, annoyed. “She gets bored and just does her own thing, she’s kinda just along for the ride, you know?”

Rosemary blinked. She  _ did _ know what that was like, surprisingly.

"Alright," she continued, taking a deep breath. Her anger was being used irresponsibly and she was already remorseful for towing a line. "If I stay here and tend to Piccolo to ensure he doesn't bleed out, can you go find her?"

"I guess so..." Gohan trailed off nervously, the pressure of time growing thin starting to hit him as well. "Will you be fine here on your own?"

Rosemary irritably clenched her hands into fists.  She knew she was weaker than everyone else, but she wasn’t incompetent.

"Must you guys doubt me so much?" she snapped, lowering her head. "I'm really not all that useless, am I?"

"Sorry!" Gohan slid in quickly. "I still don’t know you all that well, I just want to make sure you’re okay! Just be careful, then, alright?"

"I'll be fine!" she fussed. "Please, Just hurry!" 

Taking a moment to reflect on the exchange the two of them just had, she hoped that she wasn’t too mean to the boy. ‘You know, he’s a good kid…’

"Right!" he confirmed finally, then left her outside of the ship with Piccolo, who lay unconscious on the ground. Rosemary stiffly crouched down to his side, the new chest plate she had been wearing shifting as she bent over, leaving her feeling like she was being temporarily sat on. Annoyed, she squirmed quickly to readjust her armour and took a few breaths - she was about to deal with a wound larger than she’d ever tended to previously. 

Almost identical to Ginyu’s tactic of impaling his own chest, Frieza took the liberty to fire something cleanly through Piccolo’s shoulder while she was resting, only narrowly missing where she assumed the Namekians heart lie within his body.

She was heavily opposed to the idea of getting close and personal with a massive hole blasted through someone’s chest - the first time she saw such a thing, she nearly fainted on the spot. But, she had to do it for the sake of staying alive, her freedom was too close to give up now.

'If I can move small objects with a good amount of control...' she thought intensely, before she went to work. 'Perhaps there’s a way I can reroute his blood flow away from the wound...' 

She noted every little detail of Piccolo's injuries carefully, squeamish as she spent a great deal of attention glaring at the huge gap in his body, the edges rough with scabbing, loose green skin, and fabric from his clothing. Slowly bringing a shaky hand closer to the wound, she could hardly bring herself to look as she reached out towards it. Finally touching a finger to an edge, she ripped her hand away with an unsettling yelp, tensing up in disgust. She needed to do this, she knew she did, but she had never seen anything quite like this up close before - this was worse than even Goku’s prior situation.

"Seriously!" she shouted angrily, slamming a fist to the ground in shame. This was just too much for her to handle. "What is it with blowing holes in people?" she asked the air, then reconsidered. "I suppose it’s the most effective way to kill someone..." 

She shook her head. 

“How did I get myself into this, anyways... Would it have been better to just stay a captive for the rest of my life? Will I even live after all of this?!”

After some insistent reassuring, she pressed on, forcing herself to place a hand gently underneath Piccolo’s body. Focusing in on him carefully, she pressed her other hand on the top of his chest a generous distance away from the gaping wound. She imagined all of the tiny, individual veins transporting his blood, the very essence of his life at that moment, to the rest of his body. She then envisioned his blood flowing through those veins, slowly and steadily moving throughout his internal systems, the beat of his heart putting out a small amount of pressure on it to ensure it moved along. 

It was strangely meditative for her, and suddenly, the process became more then just thought.

She could  _ feel  _ something, as if her hands were wet, a faint trickling feeling stimulated the tips of her fingers. 

Piccolo’s heartbeat became more amplified, allowing her to feel how deceptively strong and healthy his heart had been.

'This is so  _ fascinating _ …' she thought in an exciting wonder, then quickly relaxed to stay focused. 'This is ludicrous, I can feel  _ everything _ … Maybe I can circulate his blood flow without having any of it approach the wound like a tourniquet...'

She ended the thought, stayed quiet to concentrate, and went to work.

 

. . .

 

Upon instruction from King Kai, the guardian of Earth instructed his caretaker to gather the Dragon Balls. Direly aware that Piccolo's condition was on the line, Kami prayed willingly as he waited in hope that Mr. Popo could find the Dragon Balls soon enough to bring everyone home. 

After a great amount of effort, Mr. Popo finally returned with all seven Dragon Balls.

“My lord, please forgive me for taking so long, I just don’t have it in me to do this sort of thing anymore…” Mr. Popo remarked as he caught his breath, hopping off his magic red carpet in a hurry. 

Kami rushed over to meet with him and set the plan in motion.

“You’ve done well, Mr. Popo.” the elder kindly reassured him. “Come, we must hurry!”

“Of course, sir!” Mr. Popo panted, calling the magic carpet over to drop the Dragon Balls in front of him as he hunched over tiredly. He dramatically flared his hands out towards them.

" _ Shenron _ ," he chanted between heavy breaths. "Rise to grant a wish for the sake of the universe!"

The Dragon Balls began to glow brightly in response, a gentle humming noise sounded as they began to emit more energy. After a bright flash of light, a long but slim green dragon emerged from the pile before them.

"I am the Eternal Dragon…" it thundered down to Mr. Popo in it’s typical greeting. "Master, what is it you request of me at this time?"

"Shenron!" He responded politely. "I ask that you resurrect all of the lives that were taken at the hands of Frieza and his army."

Shenron's eyes burned a red hue in response.

"Your wish shall be granted, Master."

 

. . .

 

Back on Namek, the sky had returned to it's dark black colour once again, the dragon Porunga now sitting idly atop an island that had parted itself from the mainland. 

Lord Guru had been revived safely, solemnly sitting on his throne at the watchtower. The Namekian elder knew exactly what had happened, he could sense that there was still an evil force at play nearby and sat in prayer, pleading to let it pass peacefully.

Dende, killed where the Dragon Balls had fallen dead, snapped awake as if he had just been in a miserable dream. He couldn’t remember his death, but still had the Pickup Station to Heaven fresh in his mind and could put together that for even a brief moment, he had died. 

He grabbed at himself in confusion.

"I-I'm alive?" he asked himself blankly, looking around at his home planet once again, now in shambles. "Yes, I'm alive!" he shouted happily. 

Seeing the angry black sky in front of him, he turned around to notice that from far away, Porunga had returned to finish his duty on an isolated piece of land.

‘ _ Dende, _ ’ Guru’s voice boomed in his thoughts.  _ ‘My son, are you alright?’ _

Dende stood tall and looked around in confusion. 

“G-Guru?” Dende whimpered in shock. “Is that you? You’re alive too?”

_ ‘Yes, my son.’ _ Guru replied firmly, a soft echo present among the young child’s imaginative space.. ‘ _ But, we have work to do… You are with the Dragon, yes? _ ’

“Yes, I can see him from here!” Dende assured him obediently.

_ ‘Very good.’  _ Guru went on in praise.  _ ‘Listen carefully, our people are in your hands now. I have a wish I would like you to make.’ _

“Yes, of course. What would you like me to say?”

_ ‘Alright, listen carefully, my son.’ _ Guru instructed further.  _ ‘Please wish for everyone except Goku and Frieza to be moved to the Planet Earth.’ _

“Yes, sir!” he shouted with determination “I’ll see to it at once!”

Without hesitation, Dende flew towards the dragon as fast he could.

 

. . .

 

Gohan raced back to the ship in a frenzy, with Bulma fussing uncomfortably in his clutch. The ground was beginning to quiver uncontrollably, every body of water that Gohan flew over was restless and spat angrily at him as he flew overhead. Only one thing was on his mind - flying as fast as he could, knowing he was extremely short for time as he passed by countless geysers of water trying to knock him out of the air. He could see the ship up ahead finally, giving a final last push of his energy to rocket over to the island where the ship was parked.

Rosemary waved to him from the ship’s entrance, noticeably crying, he couldn’t tell if she had been happy or sad at that moment. Landing as smoothly as he could, he ran over to Rosemary and placed Bulma down. Bulma gave the group a firm nod, and headed into the ship without a second thought.

“Oh, thank goodness... you really made it back!” Rosemary sniffled shakily. She was beginning to think that he wasn’t going to return, but thanked whatever Gods up above she could for his sake. “Please, help me get Piccolo inside! I’ve stabilized him for now, he’s actually recovering startlingly fast!”

“That’s great!” Gohan approved, scooping Piccolo up and led the way inside the ship. “Let’s get outta here!”

 

. . .

 

Coughing up dirt as he emerged from the hole Goku had put him in crossly, Vegeta grumbled and cursed belligerently.

"Now whose clever idea was it, burying me like this-" 

He paused in realization. 

"Wait, I'm alive?!" He vaguely remembered a fierce pain shooting through the left side of his chest, ripping open his heart. He remembered taking his last breaths and everything, pitifully pleading his last wish to Goku as if it were some dramatic film. “Or, wait," he remarked, choosing to explore the area a little before he jumped to conclusions, strolling around the island slowly. “Perhaps this is what Hell looks like…” 

He put a hand over his chest, observing that there was no hole there for him to bleed out through. His armour was still significantly damaged, accurately reflecting where he had been hit previously with a jaggedly edged hole right under his left peck.

“This can’t be right,” he told himself strangely, inspecting his hands for scratches and bruises, but there were significantly less signs of injury than before. “My wounds have been healed, but how?”

He curiously jabbed himself in the abdomen, letting up another heap of mud lodged in his throat and groaned gratefully, curling over in pain. Perhaps he could have hit himself a bit less harshly than he did to prove the point. He chuckled wickedly to himself, his face still planted on the ground as he got over his own punch.

“Ho, so it’s true then, I  _ am  _ alive!” he shouted happily. “That means everyone else probably is, too, somewhere.”

He heard a clap of thunder, causing him to whip around anxiously. 

“If that’s the case, then I’m still on Namek.” he glared out towards the open sea as it furiously whipped and flailed around. Out in the distance, he could distinguish two distinct flashes of something rapidly appearing in various points in the sky. “And,  _ they’re _ still here.”

He observed them carefully, amazed at the speed and energy levels that he was able to pick up.

“This is so bizarre!” he watched, perplexed. “There’s still a chance to kill him!”

He charged towards the fight immediately, ready to give Frieza a piece of his mind. He briefly thought about Rosemary, assuming that she had been able to escape with the others.

‘Perhaps this is my second chance at a proper life.’ Vegeta thought to himself dully. As he rounded the corner of a cliff, he saw a huge glowing mass in the very far distance. 

“Is- Is that the Dragon?!” he blurted out, changing his course to chase it down instead. “Looks like the Gods have chosen to be kind to me.”

 

. . .

 

The Dragon within his reach, Dende touched down on the island sloppily, tripping over himself as he rushed over to the pile of Dragon Balls that kept their exact position on the ground as before.

Approaching the dragon in awe, he greeted it with a bow, hoping the abrupt halt in the Dragon’s summoning wouldn’t affect the circumstances.

“Dragon!” Dende called out loudly. “I’ve returned and I’d like to make a wish! I’m sorry to keep you waiting, sir!”

“Very well,” the dragon boomed back. “You have one wish remaining.”

Dende heard a whizzing sound grow closer, causing him to turn around to decipher what it was. There, approaching him at an incredible speed, was Frieza, desperately racing over to make a wish of his own.

“Oh, no!” Dende cried out, returning to face the Dragon hastily. “Alright, Porunga, I’m ready!”

Goku joined the group of them, attempting to fight Frieza off with a barrage of kicks and punches.

“Hurry up, kid!” Goku shouted.

“Right!” Dende responded, clearing his throat. Chanting in Namekian, Dende pleaded his final wish to the Dragon successfully, and let out an exhale of relief. 

‘I did it, everyone’s safe now…’

“I will grant your wish.” Porunga replied in English. “Everyone from Namek will be moved to the planet Earth, except for these two.”

Dende gasped in delight.

“Alright!” he cheered. “See you there, Goku!”

Giggling cheerfully, Dende was transported away from the planet by a quick blink of light. Goku gave Dende a wink as he disappeared.

“Frieza!!” a familiar voice roared in the distance. Goku turned around to see Vegeta, all flustered that he had missed the opportunity to steal the Dragon’s wish from them.

“Oh, hey!” Goku called over to him casually. “Nice to see you back!”

“WHAT?!” Frieza bellowed, enraged. “I  _ killed  _ you! How are you standing there?!”

“Hey, Vegeta!” Goku hollered over again with a wink. “Say hi to Rosemary for me when you get to Earth, would ya?”

Vegeta stiffened up, petrified, then disappeared with a blink of light as well.

 

. . .

 

Rosemary hit the ground firmly after falling out of a tree in the middle of nowhere, letting out a short cry of pain. With Namekians now spawning around her left and right, she looked around in severe confusion as they all looked over to her with deep concern after witnessing her fall. She had no idea where she was, nor where all these people were coming from. She looked down at the ground, noticing that the grass here was green instead of Namek’s unusual blue. She brushed her fingers over it to see if it was really grass that she was touching, her index finger sliced open gently across a blade of, to her relief, grass.

“Miss, are you alright?” a tall and slender Namekian asked her politely, offering a hand to help her up. “That was quite the fall you just had!”

Rosemary accepted his help graciously, taking his hand as he pulled her up off the ground with ease.

“I think I’m alright, thank you, sir.” she courteously replied with a bow of thanks, scanning the area around them peculiarly after a few quick stretches. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are we, exactly?”

Not too far away from her, Bulma was pacing the area in a similar confusion, looking around to see if she could recognize anything to pinpoint her location. Seeing Rosemary stand with a Namekian man, she ran over to her in excitement.

“Oh, hey, Rosemary, you’re here, too!” Bulma acknowledged, putting a hand on her shoulder in a friendly manner. “I’m glad to see you’re alright! What a relief!”

Peeking his head out from a tree above them, Gohan peered down at Bulma and Rosemary happily.

“Hey, you guys are here!” he cheered, hopping out of the tree to meet up with them below. Rosemary remained stiff and tense, unsure what to make of everything she was witnessing.

“Yes, I’m happy to be alive and all,” Rosemary spoke out again, estranged. “But what happened to the ship we were in?! What happened to Namek? How did we get here? I… I don’t understand! This is all so strange...”

Just then, Dende had approached the group of them with a huge smile.

“Don’t worry, ma’am!” he explained joyfully, with Piccolo following not far behind. “I brought us all here with Namek’s Dragon Balls!”

Piccolo looked down towards Rosemary, realizing that he hadn’t formally met her before now - this woman had saved his life, and without him, none of this would have been possible. She was peculiarly short, much like Vegeta’s surprisingly petite build. Noticing his attention towards her gradually growing, Rosemary looked up to Piccolo shyly, bashful and hesitant to say anything.

“I guess you’re the one to thank for a majority of this.” he told her, his deep voice causing Rosemary to cower away a little. He relaxed his composure, hoping to make her a bit more comfortable. “Rosemary, was it? You saved my life, I owe you my thanks.”

Rosemary stared up at him awkwardly. She had saved his life, sure, but what else had she accomplished? 

Nodding in confirmation, followed with a respectful bow.

“Yes,” she managed to say, honoured. “It was a true test of my skills, sir.” she looked around further, hoping to see others that she recognized. “...Is Goku here?”

“Hey, yeah… Good question.” Piccolo agreed, surveying the crowd as well. “Goku!” he shouted. “You here?!”

The group of them heard a crowd of others in the distance, catching their attention easily.

Everyone looked over to them, to see Lord Guru surrounded by some other Namekians in a huddle of sorts. They all rushed over quickly to make sure everyone was alright.

“Lord Guru!” Rosemary was the first to call out. “Goodness, you’re here too, what exactly is happening, sir?”

Guru gave her an elderly smile.

“Ah, yes, you ask valid questions.” he told her whimsically. “We are on a planet called Earth now, we have been relocated here thanks to a wish upon our planet’s Dragon Balls.”

Bulma and Gohan perked up immediately.

“Earth?!” Gohan repeated in shock. “We’re home?”

“Did Goku defeat Frieza, sir?” Piccolo chimed in quickly. “Or was he unsuccessful?”

Guru grumbled.

“They’re still fighting as we speak.” he answered in a low tone. “The one called Goku decided to stay on Namek to finish the fight that will leave it’s mark in our history forever.”

“So they’re still on Namek?” Gohan clarified, shaking his head in disbelief. “But, how will he make it back?”

“That’s not good!” Bulma chimed in, a few beads of sweat dripping from her head. “The planet was about to explode as we were leaving! He’s going to get caught in the blow!”

“This doesn’t make any sense!” Rosemary followed up frantically. “Why would he choose to stay there?! The planet was in extremely rough shape! Surely, he knew that he didn’t have much time!”

As Rosemary tried to understand everything, Gohan teared up quietly. He couldn’t tell himself that his father would be able to come home safely, not after everything he had seen back on Namek.

“D-Dad…”

Rosemary looked down at him, growing more miserable at the sight of seeing someone else cry. She truly hadn’t seen another person cry in years, it’s always been her that was crying. She felt terrible.

Bending down to try and comfort him, she took Gohan into her arms.

“I want to believe that he’ll be okay.” she told him awkwardly as he sobbed into her shoulder. “I truly think he can do it, Gohan, please, don’t be discouraged. You’ve been so strong with me in my darkest moments, please, stay strong.”

Watching everyone despair and question the situation from the distance, Vegeta kept a close eye on Rosemary, admiring her will to help out and comfort wherever possible. The very sight of her holding someone close, with arms that he knew were no strangers to compassion, gave him a stroke of tenderness among an overwhelming wave of envy. He remembered when it was him that she cared to so gently, wishing it was him that she had been embracing at that moment.

He decided it was time for him to reveal his presence, already anticipating a massive surge of happiness from Rosemary as she discovered he was there.

“I, for one, understand his choice.” he spoke out in a loud, powerful tone, catching everyone’s attention immediately as he approached the crowd. “If he’s any kind of Saiyan, he wouldn’t give up a good fight. Given that you’re one yourself, I’m surprised you even question it.”

Rosemary’s eyes widened in disbelief, stinging with tears of her own. She immediately whipped around at the sound of his voice. It was really Vegeta, in the flesh, in front of her, despite him being killed in the fight back on Namek. She couldn’t wrap her head around any of this. Mythical dragons? Magical wishes? The dead coming back to life? How had she never heard of any of this growing up?

“...Vegeta?!” Rosemary let out a gasp, stepping away from the group towards him breathlessly. “Is this really you I’m seeing, or am I in another cursed dream that I’ve yet to wake from?”

“You see just fine.” Vegeta stood before her proudly with a confident smirk. “Fancy, seeing you here as well.”

Gohan and Bulma cowered away slightly as Vegeta came closer. Rosemary looked over her shoulder to find herself alone in his company, confused.

Bulma scowled.

“Yeah, well, I for one could have lived if you hadn’t showed up.” Bulma retorted immaturely.

Rosemary shot her a look, unable to figure out this woman’s reasoning for such a comment, to find Bulma pouting childishly. 

“You don’t exactly have a clean record here, yourself.”

Rosemary looked back and forth between Bulma and Vegeta awkwardly, opting to remain silent.

‘Just what exactly has Vegeta been up to all this time?’ she thought to herself questionably. ‘The people here don’t seem all that welcoming of him, do they not get along?’

“That’s not very nice of you, considering I had a hand in your safety, woman.” Vegeta shot back. A cocky grin formed across his face with ease as he recalled the series of events from Namek before he got here, making him chuckle and snicker devilishly. “Yes, nothing will stop Kakarot from fighting with Frieza now that he’s become a Super Saiyan, except perhaps the planet blowing up from beneath him!”

“S-Super Saiyan?!” Rosemary stuttered crazily. ‘The one in the old legends?!’

Rosemary observed Vegeta in confusion as he laughed carelessly, given their situation. Vegeta gave her a firm but uninformative nod.

Not pleased with the direction the conversation was taking, Gohan got into a fighting stance, ready to take him on at any given moment, causing Rosemary to tense up even further. Rosemary took a few steps aside from Bulma and Gohan anxiously.

“Stop laughing!” Gohan fired back angrily. 

“Oh, and why should I do that, kid?” Vegeta boasted, crossing his arms arrogantly. “Once Kakarot and Frieza are through with their fighting and the planet blows up, I’ll be the most powerful fighter in the universe! How convenient.”

Vegeta’s sudden show of his ego sent Rosemary’s brain into a tangent. Vegeta always had a lust for being strong and powerful, just like his father, and she was even more surprised that this lust remained as strong as it was throughout the years - she questioned if being enslaved to Frieza’s had anything to do with it. 

‘But why does he have something against this Kakarot person?’ she asked herself curiously. ‘More importantly, who is Kakarot? The name sounds like that of a Saiyan, Is it Goku he’s referring to? The boy seems to understand it…’

“Alright, kid,” Vegeta rambled on brashly, taking a few more steps towards Gohan. “Since you and I are the only Saiyans left after the fact, aside from Lady Rosemary over there, how about we have some fun with a little test of strength?”

Rosemary stood there quivering now, immobilized by fear and uncertainty. 

‘Is he serious right now?’ Rosemary asked herself with worry, cowering away from the conversation even further. ‘We just got back here, and Vegeta already wants to pick fights with people?’

“I’m not interested, you jerk.” Gohan retaliated. “I don’t need to listen to you bark at everyone like this!”

‘Perhaps I should step in…’ Rosemary questioned further. ‘It seems I’m the only one here known to tame this man, maybe this should be my responsibility.’

“How can you even think about fighting when Goku’s out there risking his life for us?!” Bulma bantered. “How can you be so  _ selfish ?!” _

Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly. 

“It’s not like it was  _ my  _ choice for him to stay there.” Vegeta countered with a snicker. “And now that I’m the strongest one here, you can lead by Lady Rosemary’s example and do as I say from now on.”

_ ‘Lady Rosemary.’ _

Agitated by Vegeta’s sudden reckless behaviour, Rosemary leapt out in front of Gohan, giving Vegeta her own stare of disapproval. She doubted that Vegeta would try and fight her, it was about time she took a stand for the people that have helped her up until now, and it was about time that she returned to her proper role.

“If I may, my Prince,” Rosemary spoke out challengingly, an eyebrow cocked up. “I think you’re being rather mindless with your choices.” she held her head high with authority. “Speaking of mindless, what were you thinking, telling me to leave you for death like that? Please, consider what you’re saying!”

Vegeta looked away from her, somewhat defeated.

“I don’t wish to air our dirty laundry here.” he responded to her in a calm tone. “Allow me to claim what is rightfully mine first, we can chat later.”

Rosemary’s stare on him hardened.

“I wish for no harm on anyone here!” Rosemary defended. “Please, I… I’ve just become free again after all this time… Can we please just relax? All of this fighting and bickering, it’s just so unnecessary...” 

She sighed tiredly, her head emitting a gentle throb of discomfort. The day had been packed full of tense and demanding tasks so far that she hadn’t considered the possibility of growing exhausted again. 

“I never said you couldn’t.” Vegeta told her, annoyed that she was spending her energy trying to argue with him instead of taking it easy. “In fact, if you were wise, you’d back off and take some time for yourself.”

‘At least throughout all of this, he still considers my well-being.’ Rosemary thought to herself, sarcastically.

Gohan rejoined Lord Guru of Namek, requesting that he tell everyone what was happening back on Namek. He didn’t want to hear another word of Vegeta’s arrogance, and took advantage of Rosemary’s efforts to calm him down.

“I’m sorry, child.” Guru replied monotonously. “I can no longer sense what is happening on Namek.”

Gohan and Bulma looked up at Guru, discouraged once again. Piccolo put a hand on Gohan’s shoulder kindly.

“Don’t worry, kid.” Piccolo insisted. “Goku will make it back.”

“How can you be sure?” Gohan asked Piccolo doubtfully. He wanted to believe Piccolo, he really did, but the odds just weren’t in his father’s favour at the moment.

“I just  _ know _ .”

Despite the constant efforts to keep the mood in good spirit, Rosemary couldn’t help but feel a strong feeling of despair among them. She could relate to Gohan, they needed the facts to be sure of anything, but something from within her was also pleading that something was wrong. Reminded of herself at a very young age, she remembered the day that her own father told her that he needed to go - little did she know that it would be his final planetary mission and that she’d be alone for the rest of her life shortly after. 

Unsure of how to assist everyone at this point in time, she bowed her head in gloom and took her place off to the side of the crowd and found herself a tree to sit under and relax, as per Vegeta’s suggestion. She closed her eyes to rest, but continued to pay close attention to her surroundings so she could jump in if things got out of hand again.

Choosing to shut up for a while to see if anyone was able to obtain more information, Vegeta noticed that Rosemary had finally decided to ease up and take advantage of her first real moments of peace. He debated with himself as to if he should join her, or if she even wanted his company after the brief display of dominance he had shown. Pondering it for a moment further, he decided to give the commentary a rest and joined her, awkwardly taking a seat at her side.

‘This is the closest I’ve been to her this entire time.’ He thought harmlessly, taking the sight of her in with more attention. He still couldn’t believe it - it really  _ was _ her beside him. ‘I’ve waited so damn  _ long _ , it doesn’t even feel real.’ he told himself. He shifted his attention downwards towards her neck, the very same pendant that he had given her all those years ago still elegantly sat on her collarbone.

Rosemary opened her eyes briefly to see him looking over at her, then turned her head towards him so she would look back at him restlessly.

“You know,” Rosemary spoke out sluggishly. “There’s still so much for me to figure out about all of this…” she sighed. “I would appreciate it if you could make it simpler for me.”

Vegeta placed his arms in his lap, leaning his head back against the tree to follow suit with her.

“Where do I even start?” He groaned.

Rosemary tiredly closed her eyes, unsure of the answer herself.

“I suppose I should ask if I should be happy that we’re here.” she sighed. “The others don’t seem to take to you very well, what have you been up to all this time?”

Vegeta huffed.

“I have my own agenda. I’ll leave it at that for now.” he replied firmly, his eyes still on the jewel around her neck. “You’re safe, process that first. Rest.”

Rosemary moaned.

“There’s still so much hanging in the balance…” she went on. “I can not bring myself to just  _ ignore _ everything right now.”

“Rose, you’re  _ free _ . Stop worrying.” 

Rosemary’s eyes managed to shoot open in surprise as Vegeta resorted to her old nickname along with such a classic line of his, her eyes burning as she strained to keep them open. Something about it was effectively soothing. After allowing her eyelids to droop, she closed her eyes once again.

“Yes, precisely like that.” Vegeta softly told her in praise, noticing the calm that fell over her face. Letting her rest, he continued to watch over her admirably. She looked strikingly familiar to the girl he always remembered, but with a new, more matured and attractive presence. He had no idea how the two of them were going to interact from now on, but the thought excited him like no other.

Rosemary’s breath grew heavy as she finally dozed off. Vegeta leaned in to confirm that she was sleeping, receiving a very faint moaning sound that he knew she used to make occasionally when she was drifting in and out of consciousness, a faint, warm smile creeping its way to his face. Rosemary’s head slid slightly against the tree, her body now fully relaxed and asleep. He managed a chuckle.

‘So determined to fight me, yet she turns out like a light.’ he commented cunningly. ‘Oh yes, I have real trouble on my hands now.’

Deciding to let her snooze peacefully, he got up from where he sat and took to a nearby rock to observe the crowds of Namekians nearby in silence, awaiting more news on the fight from Namek. Instead, he found himself in the middle of groups of small children playing and older men chatting away amicably. Everyone seemed happy, despite the potential for an all-powerful overlord to come and wipe them all out in due time. Perhaps it was the twenty-something years of slavery affecting him, but he wasn’t all that cheerful about it. Taking a moment to reflect, a part of him wanted Goku to win and return so he could be rid of him once and for all by his own hands, while the other half of him wanted Goku to die so he could resume his reign as the strongest being in the universe, doubtful that he'd truly be able to defeat Goku in the end. 

He was tired of his life hanging in limbo, that, he knew for certain. 

‘Go figure, two of my greatest desires can’t be achieved at the same time.’ he told himself with a final, defeated huff. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	9. Grief

**__** _**Chapter Nine - Grief** _

"Hey, come check this out!" Bulma cheerfully called out to everyone. "Man, it's been so long since I've done something like this!"

After a moment of confused blinking, a large mass of assorted Namekian men gathered around her steadily. Peering in as she sat in the grass, they all huddled together to get a closer look.

Bulma pointed at a small setup she had been making on the ground, grabbing some tiny leaves that had been peeking their way out of a patch of grass beside her.

Dende shuffled up to the front of the crowd in wonder.

"What is it, Ma'am?" he asked her kindly. "I've never seen something like this before, is it one of your powers?"

Bulma took a twig she had found in the grass and drew a small circle in the dirt cheerily, giggling at the thought of her having some kind of superhuman abilities. She was no Saiyan or Namekian, that's for sure, the only thing that came to mind was how smart she was, and even then, that was fairly standard.

She gave Dende a bright smile. "No no, nothing like that. I don't have any powers, I'm just kinda normal, I guess.  _This_  is a way of fortune telling for travellers!" she explained as more curious Namekians came over to watch. She happily waved them down to gesture them all to come closer.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Alright, have a gander here, I have these three leaves, right? You put them in this circle here, facing away from each other, and light them on fire..."

Fussing around as Bulma made such a commotion, Rosemary awoke once again, tiredly opening an eye to see if she could catch a glimpse of whatever Bulma was doing. Her vision came back to her after a couple forced blinks, instantly spotting the crowd of green men tightly swarmed around her. She hadn't been able to sleep properly for ages, she doubted that she'd have any better luck with all the changes that were happening.

Slightly disappointed, she closed her eyes again and gently pressed her head back against the tree she was leaning on, listening attentively for any further information that may come and let out a heavy exhale for good measure.

Resentful of all the noise, Vegeta quietly sat at her side, giving her the occasional look out of the corner of his eye to check if she was truly asleep. She'd grown restless again - getting her to relax was a task in itself, but it was proving to be harder than he thought it'd be. He assumed it would be simple to wind down, being out of harm's way had it's way of relieving stress for him, at least, but he couldn't relate to her excessive need for rest. She had been putting up a surprisingly good fight, at the very least.

He scowled at the crowd in the distance. All he wanted to do was take a break from everything, and everyone was annoyingly making a commotion out of nothing.

'So much for her resting.' he complained to himself. 'Damn you, blue-haired woman.'

Bulma looked up to the dozens of people around her. She knew the whole thing was childish, but she hoped that doing some old wives' tale would help clear the air around them. She could only guess what Goku was doing up on Namek at that moment, knowing that the planet was in a questionable state when she had left it. While Gohan had been transporting her back to the ship, the water had been swirling in raging tides and torrents - she'd never seen anything quite like it on Earth.

"If all three leaves burn out at the same time, then it's said that the traveller will come home safely!" Bulma went on with a cheery smile. "Sounds cool, huh?"

The people from within the crowd gave her a variety of interesting hums and hahs as she carried on setting up the ritual, their green antenna-like ears perking up in excitement.

Rosemary huffed doubtfully, easily catching Vegeta's attention.

"Oh?" Vegeta teased her with a playful smirk. "Not exactly  _your_  way of doing things, is it?"

Rosemary opened her eyes and shot him a tired but stern look.

"It's entirely flawed." Rosemary retorted. "There's so many factors that affect how a fire behaves, it can't possibly be able to predict the future, as much as I wish it could."

Intrigued by her sudden pessimism, Vegeta snickered.

"Care to demonstrate?" he edged her on further.

Rosemary eyes went from unamused to challenged, her glare intensifying as she debated with herself. Did she really want to ruin everyone's fun?

"Enjoy yourself a little,  _show me_."

Rosemary sighed. Maybe getting a laugh out of him wasn't a half bad idea, it would be a refreshing change from his intense, serious nature he'd been showing as of late.

"Alright, I'll indulge you. Wait until she's got some fire going."

From the eye of the crowd, Dende clasped his hands together over the circle Bulma had created, opening them to reveal a small flame that he had conjured up with ease. He carefully placed it in the centre of the leaves and waited.

Rosemary wagged a finger in front of her and Vegeta, gesturing for him to watch, and swiped it off to the side. Vegeta felt a small breeze run its course as it passed by him, listening in anticipation to see if it impacted the large group from afar. Unable to see if anything had happened, after hearing a collective of sad moans, Rosemary gave a firm nod and small frown.

Vegeta gave a wicked chuckle.

"Well, that wasn't very  _nice_  of you to crush their spirit." he meanly taunted with a light nudge of his arm. "And here I thought you were kind."

Rosemary blushed heavily. She should have seen something like that coming from a mile away.

"I-I told you!" Rosemary quickly defended. "It was flawed! Nothing to do with me, it could have been any random gust of wind that did it, I just happened to make that one..."

Vegeta was reduced to heavy laughter.

"Oh  _please_ , you're free now, you're allowed to have some cyanide in you." he teased her further, letting himself go with endless cackling. "You want to hear something that's  _really_ evil? I'll tell you what's on  _my_ mind." he mused even further. "We're all sitting here waiting for some explosion to happen out in space, and once it does, I'll have both Frieza  _and_ Kakarot out of my way from now on! And you're worried about making some smiles disappear, how harmless in comparison."

Rosemary listened to him with a skeptic gaze, unsure of how to feel about the direction he'd taken the conversation, but remained silent out of courtesy. Despite Vegeta's apparent hatred for the man, she truly wanted to thank Goku for saving her life - he was truly a remarkable being, along with the others that she encountered that had made their way back as well. Without these people, she wasn't sure if she could have survived with just Vegeta's help, even if he was as strong as they come. She couldn't imagine a world without Frieza in it, either, yet the possibility that it may soon exist baffled her beyond her wildest dreams - and it was all thanks to a small group of Earth dwellers and the prince, her timeless hero.

While their ongoing feud with Frieza was being handled off in space, she still couldn't understand why Vegeta was being so cold with everyone around them during their first moments of peace. It was fair to assume that Vegeta's motives had been tainted a good deal by Frieza over the years, but she hoped that he'd explain everything to her in time now that they had the opportunity. There was so much she wanted to ask him, to pick his brain about, but for now, all she would do was listen.

Vegeta concluded that Rosemary's silence was her way of indicating that she expected him to say more.

"I don't expect you to reason with me right now, I can tell by your expression that you're impartial to my ideation." Vegeta told her, tensing up. "It really is unfathomable just how  _long_  I've waited for this day."

Rosemary nudged her head against the tree to get comfortable, allowing him to rant on, uninterrupted.

'Yes, it's about as long as I've waited for you to come along...' she gloomily commented to herself.

" _So_  many years under that  _tyrant's_  rule." he sneered. "Half our lives,  _honestly_ … It was humiliating, you know, having to follow his every word to the ends of the universe, as if he were some  _god_ … The things I've done for the sake of living, only for someone else's gain."

He suddenly questioned if continuing would be healthy for Rosemary at the moment - if she planned to be around, she needed to know, yes, she needed to know  _everything._ Given the way she'd carried herself since he found her again, her moral compass hadn't changed one bit since they were teenagers. She was a woman of great generosity and intelligence among a population of fierce and ruthless warriors, and she was perfectly aware of it. While she may have stood out for it, there was a place for her kind, and she made good use of it among his ranks. For the sake of being as close as she was with him, however, he insisted that she needed to know the  _truth_ , not just whatever all these Earthlings had to say, eventually.

Despite the dark undertones of their conversation and her painfully growing exhaustion, she still looked to him with as much effort as she could muster. She seemed alright with him talking up until now, so he went on.

"Granted that we're of a race of warriors, it might not come as a shock to you that I've had to get my hands dirty." he sighed miserably. "I've done everything I've been commanded to, grown stronger with every planet I've conquered, for the day that I could finally be rid of Frieza and claim the birthright that is this universe!" he bowed his head, a smile of relief peeking its way through as he started to laugh once more.

Rosemary managed a tiny smile for him. It was refreshing to see him happy, she had to reward it somehow.

He pumped a tightened fist.

"At _last_ , that time has come, and I won't even need to see to it myself, it's just so perfect! Even Kakarot, that  _low-class_  Saiyan, will be taken out for me, what delightful convenience after a long, hard day of work."

Rosemary heard a rustling of grass just then. She turned a tired head to see what it was, to find Gohan angrily stomping over to them. Weary, she slowly pivoted it back around along the tree and closed her eyes once again. For heaven's sake, why couldn't everyone just  _relax_?

'Does there really need to be another fight right now?' she grieved.

Gohan stopped in his tracks, brows furled and fists ready to go.

"Would you shut your face?!" he shouted over to Vegeta. "My dad's coming back  _alive_ , whether you like it or not!"

Annoyed, Vegeta looked over his shoulder to the kid, giving him a dirty smirk as he slid down the tree stump to lay on the ground, coolly keeping his post. He stared up at the cloudless and pure blue sky, unfazed by Gohan's laughable attempt of a threat. For a brief moment, the colour reminded him of the insanely blue eyes of Goku that he'd managed to see before he vanished away from Namek. The fool managed to become a Super Saiyan, as if it were nothing at all - it was unbelievably frustrating how hard he'd trained, how hard he'd fought for his life, yet the Prince of all Saiyans didn't get as much as a power-up in reward.

A jealous scowl formed across his stone-cold expression.

"Keep dreaming, kid." he shot back with ease. "It would take a miracle to get out of a catastrophic occurrence such as that."

It took everything in Gohan's power not to dive at Vegeta just then. This man was so arrogant and selfish, he'd never met someone so egocentric in his life.

With Rosemary choosing not to get involved, Gohan's fierce glare shifted to the back of her head as she remained impartial to their feud, her hair standing up even higher than it had before while she leaned against the stump. She probably had no desire to butt in, nor the energy to do anything about it. He sympathized with her for a moment, then looked back over to Vegeta, his teeth bared.

He marched over to Vegeta and gave him a menacing stare, looking down on Vegeta as he casually lounged in the grass below him. He could stomp on him with ease at any moment if he so pleased, yet Vegeta remained completely calm and collected. Despite being as annoyingly imperious as he was, this man's strength and bravery was unlike anything he'd seen previously.

"You better believe it!" Gohan fired back, standing above Vegeta now as he fought against the urge to cry. "He's gonna come back home and you'll be sorry for everything you're saying about him, just you wait!"

Vegeta's carefree eyes snapped over to Gohan's, annoyed.

Conflicted, Rosemary watched the two of them bicker, watching Gohan slump in fear as Vegeta silently looked up at him, unamused. She closed her eyes once again, her eyes burned too much to waste energy on something so pointless, only to be interrupted by a feigning energy. It dwindled familiarly to hers, she could tell, but she remained doubtful.

'Is it even possible to trace my own life force?' she pondered. 'That seems… redundant.'

She shot up from where she settled to look around at everyone in the area. No one looked to be hurt or in pain, but there was definitely a fading aura closeby, and it was large enough for her to pick it up with next to no effort at all. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

Not bothered enough to get up, Vegeta tilted his head back to watch her. As if to add to his vexation, she was noticeably troubled.

"You're getting too  _restless_ ," he insisted, brushing Gohan off like some fly that wouldn't go away. He couldn't understand why Rosemary wouldn't just lay down and  _rest_ , she was too concerned, about  _every little thing_ , it seemed, for her own good. "Seriously, I may have to knock you out myself if you keep this up."

Gohan stiffened up awkwardly. 'Well, that took a turn…'

Rosemary took a sharp pain to the side of her head, a strained whimper regrettably escaping her as she continued to push herself. Vegeta wasn't wrong, her fatigue was really starting to get to her, but her work wasn't done until  _she_  said it was, and it seemed that there was more to take care of.

"So be it, but something is wrong." she clapped back, closing her eyes to focus further. "You can feel that, can't you? Something is growing weaker."

Vegeta let out a short growl.

"Yes,  _you."_  he snapped, eyes narrowed in on her, unpleased. "By the minute, at that! The mere fact that you're up and alert greatly confuses me. Stop wasting your energy."

There was an accumulating chatter among the Namekians. Rosemary rushed over to everyone, noting that they were all in some kind of disarray. No doubt in her mind now, there was a growing panic in the air.

Hoarded around Lord Guru, countless people were looking to each other in a mortified frenzy.

Noting her weakened state as she went, Rosemary carefully shuffled through the crowd, swerving through civilians with quick but gentle strides in hope to see what all the fuss was about. Finally making her way into the clear, she found herself in front of Guru, horrifically gawking up at the old elder as he took harsh, staggered breaths.

"It's time, my children." Guru's bassy tone spoke out to everyone as they flocked towards him. "Death is merely the next step in any life."

Rosemary's eyes widened as she took in his words. 'Death?!  _Now?!_ '

"Please, sir!" she begged, outstretching her arms. "I am capable of healing if you require it! Tell me what you need, it's the least I can do after everything that has happened!"

Vegeta sat up and shuffled towards the tree that the two of them had been camped under. Things were about to get tense again, the atmosphere had grown heavy with grief and uncertainty at the very mention of death, so trivial.

He dismally eyed the crowd with care, wondering if his own business on Namek would surface somehow. 'Death, hmm? Well, this should be interesting...'

"They aren't here!" a tall, slim Namekian man called out from the pack. "No one from Guru's village is here to give him medicine! Where could they be, wasn't everyone brought here?!"

There it was.

' _Wonderful._ ' Vegeta sighed. 'Looks like I get to be the bringer of bad news once again.'

"Medicine?" Rosemary confirmed, ready to make herself busy whenever she was given the command. "This is a known issue, then?"

A shorter man frantically scurried over to her to assist in any way he could.

"Oh, yes, Ma'am!" he confirmed with hasty, panicked nods. "Of course, Lord Guru is the eldest Namek on our planet! He's been dealing with heart problems that come with age… There was a group in Guru's village that have been entrusted to Guru's care, but none of them seem to have made it to this planet!"

Vegeta took a stand.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about the villagers that  _I_ took care of, would you?" Vegeta called over with an evil smirk.

The entire mass of people dreadfully turned their heads towards him. Vegeta chortled in amusement, bowing his head to avoid looking at anyone as he took a sliver of pride in his work.

Rosemary could only assume by Vegeta's expression that he'd had a hand in all of this, leaving her with a feeling of despair.

'Anything to finish a mission, I suppose…'

"Yes, the Dragon Balls brought back everyone that was killed by Frieza and his henchmen, correct?" he went on with a malevolent purr. "I chose a good time to betray him, what a shame."

As the crowd started to grumble and growl, Rosemary bowed her head to mourn. Eradicating large amounts of people was a normal part of life for Saiyans, especially under Frieza's rule, naturally, she couldn't hold it against him. She remembered about the five Dragon Balls that he had somehow hidden away on Namek before the Ginyu Force arrived - surely he must have had to put in some work to get a hold of them. It worked out in their favour in the end, and to her, that took priority over everything else in her books.

Such an opinion was likely in the minority. She simply sighed and let the conversation play out on its own.

Just then, seven large stones rained from the sky, slamming into the ground behind Guru. The earth below everyone shook gently from the fall, making Rosemary jump with a startle.

Guru smiled warmly from the center of the swarm with a gentle moan.

"Ah yes, the Dragon Balls have found me here." he spoke out, his voice less pained but still short. "They, too, know that it's time for me to go."

Guru let out a harsh cough, causing Rosemary to approach him further in hopes that he would let her help him, her arms still outstretched and ready to react.

One of the villagers anxiously stepped out of the crowd towards him.

"But Guru, sir, we need you!"

Guru hummed peacefully, his kind smile unwavering as he felt his life force disappearing slowly.

"My children, you all have so much potential despite the difficult journey ahead of you." he assured them, reaching out to everyone with his stubby arms. "We're all survivors here, you will make it through whatever challenges you may face." he shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "Moori, my son, could you come closer?"

Another elderly Namekian, a mere fraction of Guru's size, obediently stepped forward.

Rosemary watched the man in suspense. 'Is this his next of kin?'

"Y-Yes, my lord?" the man responded shakily.

"Hold out your hand to me, son."

Perturbed, the one named Moori stumbled forward and extended a trembling hand out to Guru, the thought of his master leaving now weighing on him with an intense fear. Was Guru truly planning to pass away now, right after they've been stranded on an unfamiliar planet? He worried for the tribe's ability to progress through such a time.

Guru took his hand with a struggle, taking the last remaining reserves of his life force and passed it along to Moori, resulting in a bright glow, vibrantly engulfing him as he accepted it. As the light dissipated, Moori retracted his hand and looked down at himself in wonder and confusion - whatever it was, it left him feeling divine and heavenly. Was this Guru's true form?

"You are the eldest Namek now." Guru declared. "Take good care of our people. Soon, our Dragon Balls will regain their shine now that they are in your care, use them wisely to create a new life for our kind. Watch over everyone, they are our children."

The crowd listened in heavily, fearing the moment that Guru would turn into nothingness.

"My children…" Guru now struggled to say through jabs in his chest, his lower half now completely faded away. "You  _will_ do great things."

Rosemary teared up as she followed along with the rest of the tribe. Guru's words strongly tugged at her heart in a way that left her motivated and inspired despite the imminent pain of loss.

'Gosh, this is so moving… This must have been what it was like when our few survivors received the news that our King was killed…' she sobbed sadly, a brief recollection of her very first master came to mind. A regal King Vegeta overwhelmed her thoughts, standing with such powerful grace at the foot of his throne with his son at his side, a younger Prince Vegeta, the King's spitting image of a successor, exuding his own beautiful but mighty elegance as the two of them towered over her. The two of them beamed down at her with great pride, causing her to cheeks to grow hot as her body began to summon the same severe pain she'd felt when she discovered that she'd lost them both for the first time.

She shook her head to frantically dismiss the thought before it had a chance to latch on to the back of her mind.

'They've just been through so much, they've lost  _everything…_  I truly wish the best for their kind.'

The Namekian children began to hysterically cry, along with everyone else. Being children, Rosemary understood that it would take them longer to understand the weight of the situation, what it truly meant to  _lose_  something so dear, but she could tell that the feeling of sorrow and loss was running it's way through them at last. The cries and heavy moans of severe mourning were upon her as the Namekians wept and sobbed together as a legion. She revered them greatly, especially Guru, for doing everything he could to ensure that his people were safe.

In his honour, she took a moment to share in their sorrow, allowing herself to weep openly with them.

After giving the elder the most well-mannered bow she could, she dismissed herself from the crowd as the final remnants of Lord Guru faded into the air behind her, sadly taking a place beside Bulma and Gohan. She remained silent as she continued her lament out of respect.

Moori took post where Guru stood moments ago and dutifully looked out to his people, his expression scarred and firm.

"Please listen, everyone." he spoke with an initial croak, loud and clear with determination, catching the crowd's attention quickly. They all looked over to him, teary-eyed and hopeful that their new elder would have some words of encouragement.

"We must work together, to achieve Lord Guru's everlasting dream of peace."

Dende found himself beside Gohan and Rosemary as Moori spoke with finesse and influence, still unsure of what Moori's new role would mean for the people of Namek.

Gohan bowed his head.

"You know, Krillin would have loved to see all of this happen." he mentioned in a sad whisper. "There was nothing more that he wanted than to make sure everyone was okay..."

Rosemary placed an unsteady hand on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan could feel her limited energy fading, but he appreciated that she was putting her support and generosity above everything else - she really  _was_  a different kind of Saiyan, she suddenly reminded him of his father. He only assumed that Vegeta could sense it as well, his intense glare noticeably burning through the back of his head.

"Krillin…" Rosemary poked in shyly. "The small man that was with us, yes?"

Gohan nodded. Rosemary lowered her head once again. Her heart ached.

She uttered another sudden wince of pain. Her head ached even more, apparently.

"Yes, I'm sure he was a kind man." she replied softly. Her head throbbed consistently now - between her fatigue and constant tears, she was likely starting to shut down. She was definitely on her final energy reserves now.

Gohan turned to face her out of severe concern, worriedly looking up at her as she stood next to him. Feeling around for it with difficulty, her energy was almost insignificant, almost as if she was dying along with Guru - she looked like she could fall over at any moment. Still in shock of the elder's death, he quickly convinced himself that she wasn't dying, he begged for it not to be the case, and that he needed to act.

He cupped the frail hand that was on his shoulder between his own, hardening his focus on her as her eyes cautiously fixed his in return.

"Hey, Rosemary, you've done a lot for us, really," he pleaded. "I know you don't have a whole lot experience with stuff like this yet, but you seriously don't look  _or_  feel good at all right now… As much as I hate to say it, I think you should listen to Vegeta and really consider taking it easy from here."

Rosemary gave him a miserable moan. If only it was so simple.

She shook her head, disappointed.

"I've already tried." she replied with a grim sigh. "There's too much change, I haven't been able to adjust." Her gaze dismissively drifted to the side. "I don't know how long it will be before I do."

Bulma approached the two of them, the emotional stress starting to run its course through her as well.

"Look, I totally get it, there's a lot going on," she joined in with a motherly tone. "But we don't really know what's coming yet, so all of our fighters need to be in good shape! I kinda agree with Gohan here, take some time to chill out, okay? I can't sense energy or anything like these guys can, but Gohan's right, you look beat."

" _...our fighters."_

Rosemary's expression painfully lit up in surprise, more tears fighting their way through the heavy lids of her eyes. She had only fantasized of being an equal to the prince in the wildest of her dreams, the overwhelming pleasure of the idea blurred her vision out of delirium, her head wearily light. Despite still being so far away from such a feat, to have this woman consider her in such a regard was massively flattering.

"F-Fighter?"

Bulma raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah!" she followed up with a somewhat cheerful laugh. "You helped us get back here, you  _fought_  to get us here, so you're a fighter, too!"

Rosemary's jaw pryed itself open as she fought the urge to cry once again.

"I- I don't know what to say…"

Vegeta appeared behind her in a flash.

"I do." he told her sternly. "Nothing. You've done enough."

Before she could respond, Vegeta took hold of her shoulder to prevent her from escaping him and meticulously pinched a nerve under her ears, causing her sight to go dark and her consciousness to finally falter. As her body grew limp, he caught her before she could droop towards the ground, scooping her up with care under her legs and placing her back under the tree where she had been resting before.

Bulma let out a dramatic huff as he took Rosemary's guard.

"Was that really necessary?!" she yelled at Vegeta angrily. "Why would you hurt her like that?! What did she do to you?!"

Vegeta crossed his arms in retaliation.

"I've done her no harm." he shot back in a cool tone, taking a seat under the stump. "You didn't hear earlier? She consented to it, leave me alone."

. . .

Up on King Kai's planet, everything was uncomfortably silent. Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu all stood in growing suspense, staring King Kai down as he took the time to review Goku's ongoing battle with Frieza on Namek.

To everyone's surprise, King Kai finally let out a grumble as he felt Frieza's energy drop off. Despite Goku seemingly having the upper hand in the fight, the planet Namek was crumbling and boiling under insane amounts of pressure after a fast but fatal assault to it's planetary core, and he didn't take to it lightly.

Without saying a word just yet, King Kai spectated further. He wished he could assist Goku in his fight against Frieza, but his planet was too far away from Namek, and risking his own life in the process came with its own set of consequences for the universe.

"You know, it's a real bummer, Goku and Frieza have been on level ground this whole fight," he cheerlessly spoke out to the group behind him.

The three of them, fixed on him long enough to lose track of time, all instinctively flinched as the Kai finally uttered a sound.

Yamcha took a step forward, confused.

"What do you mean, 'it's a bummer'?" he asked with caution, his eyes throwing daggers into the back of the Kai's head. "What's happening down there?!"

King Kai shook his head.

"Well, Frieza's a bit of a sore loser." King Kai explained, his nasal, stereotypical nerd-like voice squeaking and trembling with worry. "Once Goku started to take the upper hand, he took a cheap shot at Namek's inner core, and now the planet's going to explode any minute!"

Tien's eyes widened, dumbfounded.

He angrily balled his hands while Chiaotzu started to whimper and cry.

"What a coward!" Tien snarled, gently pulling Chiaotzu towards him in hopes to settle him down. "Even if Namek explodes, wouldn't Frieza still die?! What good did that do?!"

King Kai remained still, pondering the situation.

"It would give him exactly what he wanted!" he shouted back. "He wanted to wipe out all life on Namek, and blowing up the planet would do just that." he raised his head slightly. "Everyone else got off Namek safely, but Goku's gotta get  _out_  of there if he wants to do the same!"

Yamcha managed a small smile.

"So that means that Gohan, Bulma and Piccolo made it home?" he prodded. "I suppose that's good news, at least."

King Kai gave him a firm nod.

"Yes, they all got to Earth in time before things got ugly." he responded dryly. "Everyone that was killed by Frieza, including Vegeta, was revived, and then Kami used Earth's Dragon Balls to wish everyone except for Goku and Frieza to be moved to Earth."

Yamcha exhaled in relief.

"I'm glad to hear, maybe they have a plan..."

. . .

Rosemary went on to snooze effortlessly, her body slightly twitching as the brief images of a dream began to form. Despite being unconscious, she strangely  _knew_  that she had been asleep. Such a phenomenon happened from time to time, but rarely enough that she dismissed the occasions as one-offs.

This dream, however, was different.

From what she could tell, she was in exactly the same place as she was on Earth in her conscious state - the same blue sky and green grass surrounding her among the wide open area that she'd found herself in after some magical force had moved her from Namek. There was a gentle breeze, a tickling sensation had stimulated her as it washed over her cheek on its way by. The same group of people had been present in the scene - all of the Namekian men and children, along with Gohan, Bulma and Vegeta, all had their places in the image. Oddly enough, she could see herself amongst them, donning an all too familiar dark grey jumpsuit, slightly scratched up chest plate from her brief fight with Frieza, and white gloves and boots that had become every so slightly dirty in their short time being worn.

Strange, she couldn't remember the last time she was able to see herself in her dreams. Was she just hallucinating because of how tired she was?

Why was this dream so peculiar? On queue, the version of herself in the dream nervously tensed up. She couldn't put a finger on it, something was off. She looked around at the Namekian tribe suspiciously, they had all seemed to calm down after Guru's passing. The children were running and playing with cheerful laughter now, everyone was happy and at peace. Surely, everyone hadn't moved on from the passing of their leader in such a short time.

Had Frieza been defeated? Where was Goku?

As if on queue, the sky grew dark. Thick clouds began to swirl around up above, and the slow wafts that freely wandered around the area had picked up to a noticeably strong wind. Everyone fell still to look upwards, hands coming up to their faces to shield themselves from various leaves and blades of grass that had been worked up into the air.

Rosemary stepped out into the field, gazing upwards at the sky. It was like night had fallen upon them all of a sudden, the sky an ominous shade of dark grey.

Vegeta took to her side, looking up at the sky with a scowl. She questionably turned her head to him.

"What... is this?" she asked him after a pause.

"He's found us." Vegeta flatly responded.

Vegeta slammed into the ground in front of her, a crashing  _thud_  forcing Rosemary awake with a shrill yelp.

Ensuring she was actually conscious, she blinked rapidly, taking in his pained expression and quickly crawled over to him after she realized that he'd just been smacked to the ground by an infuriated Gohan from above.

"What- What is going on here?!" she shrieked, reaching out to see if he was injured. His face had a smear of blood across his temple, but nothing else seemed too out of the ordinary. He'd clearly made himself rough around the edges over the years, but the rest of him showed no sign of anything severe.

Gohan landed not far from them with an enraged scowl. He hoped Rosemary could talk some sense into him before he did anything else, he was  _livid_.

Vegeta growled.

"You can't relax for anything, can you?!" he snarled, shoving her hand away. He bitterly sat up, locking a seething stare of hatred on the kid.

Rosemary wrinkled her nose in disgust, kneeling over him.

'Yes, well,  _I'm_  not the one that's causing an uproar.'

"Not with the amount of  _noise_  you're making!" she retorted with an angry hiss. She moved her legs from underneath her and plopped down, placing her hands back into her lap in an effort to remain calm. "Also,  _you're_  quite the hypocrite, being the insomniac that you are."

Vegeta sprung up from the ground in an instant. He would  _not_ take lightly to her backtalk right now.

"Would you shut it?!" Vegeta got up, taking a quick spit off to the side and marched over to Gohan to continue where he had left off. He had better things to do than worry about her if she was going to be such a pain. "Listen, Namek's gone. Frieza and Kakarot are dead. You're up to speed, are you happy now?!"

Rosemary's eyes burned as they forced themselves open in shock. He could have provided more information than he did, something such as this was bound to have more context. Completely stunned by his words, she breathlessly watched Vegeta approach Gohan in fury - he'd been awfully arrogant since they'd been on Earth, he must have taken it upon himself to boast about the situation while she was asleep.

'Incredible...' she thought to herself, her brain spinning with wild theories. Frieza was dead? Was she in a new dream? 'So it's over, just like  _that?!_ How does he know?! This is so  _ludicrous_...'

She hadn't been in much better condition then when she was awake previously, her head still pounded with a pain she couldn't trace the source of at this point. Thinking about it further, she didn't remember going to sleep at all. Everyone still seemed fairly calm, was there a plan? Had they figured out a workaround to Goku's death, at the very least? She had so many  _questions._

Bulma giggled loudly, cowering behind Gohan as she tried to hold it in, but was unsuccessful.

"Insomniac, huh?" she teased, catching everyone's attention with various shades of confusion. "Look at  _you_ , so flustered all of a sudden, Vegeta... You know, it's pretty  _normal_ to have a weakness to something, lighten up!"

Vegeta froze in his tracks, petrified, while Rosemary blinked blankly. It wasn't quite the detail she was expecting people to be focussed on at the moment, but she supposed it could be worse.

"So, the  _mighty_  Saiyan Prince struggles with sleep, huh?" Bulma continued to taunt. "It's about time we learned something about you! You know, that's kinda cute!"

Rosemary bit her lip with worry. She was in for it now, the last thing the prince wanted in the middle of battle was to be seen as weak. She had to agree with Bulma though - for such a tough and powerful man such as Vegeta, the idea that he struggled with something so harmless was adorably fascinating. She found herself hopelessly reminded of countless nights where she would keep him company at his bedside, a grouchy prince insisting that he wasn't tired even after a long and gruesome day of training. She missed those nights - the two of them would chat about such pointless things as they sipped some blissfully hot tea, still atop the list of her favourite things in existence along with scalding hot baths, fantastically written books and beds as soft as the clouds in the sky.

Her face grew pink with delight as she grew to remember the taste of that menthas tea, a familiar breathtaking sensation of sweet coolness faintly lingering on her tongue. She took a deep breath and let it out with a dreamy sigh, wishing that her tongue would shiver as it used to as she would take the first sip.

A portion of the worry she had been weighed down with had been magically lifted from her as she reminisced in the memories of living at the palace even further.

"Oh… Yes." Rosemary spoke out with in a hesitant, hushed sigh. "The prince could be absolutely winded and the poor man wouldn't be able to get even a wink of sleep some nights."

Vegeta whipped his head around, eyes ragefully aflame, but speechless. To his surprise, Rosemary had been looking back at him with a shy but guilty glance, blatantly aware of what she'd done. Had it been anyone else, such behaviour could have cost an arm or leg depending on his mood, but both of them knew that she was the  _one_ exception to his violence.

Rosemary raised a provocative eyebrow as he continued to glare over, completely speechless. She was dripping in remorse, putting him through the bit of torment that she was, the poor man's face must have been as red as the cape he donned back in the day. Coming to terms with how homesick she had been was a relief, perhaps she should talk more after all. It seemed to divert attention away from his grief with Gohan, at least.

"Ah, yes," Rosemary continued on with another nostalgic sigh. "All the herbal tea in the world couldn't soothe him enough to rest. A persistent one, he is." She giggled cheerily. "And he has the nerve to tell me to sleep, how amusing."

There were small laughs among the group that proved enough to reduce Vegeta to a miserable slump. He crossed his arms in a stubborn fit to follow suit.

"Y-Yes,  _well_ ," He blubbered. "I don't  _need_  sleep like you do, and I could have lived without being reminded about that detail. _I've_  been properly seasoned for battle!" he shot a ferocious look over to Gohan, pulling at his gloves to ready himself for another strike. "Speaking of, where was I…"

Rosemary's gaze hardened as Vegeta adamantly pressed on with whatever grudge he had going. She needed to act quickly if everyone was going to remain calm.

"Yes, about that." she followed, struggling to get to her feet as her legs prickled with nerves. Steadily standing up to confront him she took a wobbly step forward. "I think it's about time that  _you_ calmed down, don't you think?"

Vegeta looked towards the ground in consideration, his back turned to her out of spite.

Rosemary firmly held her focus on the back of his head. 'You're not going to ignore me.'

"Perhaps if you would stop picking fights with people, we could all finally have some peace."

Bulma threw up a finger as a matter of factly to break them up.

"You know, now would probably be a good time to discuss what you're all going to do now that you're here!" she barged in. "We're not really waiting on much to happen right now, I think it's time we start making a game plan."

Uninterested, Vegeta retreated to his tree of choice, obstinately leaning up against it as Bulma's pety mockery refused to leave his thoughts. He reluctantly gave Rosemary a look of disapproval.

Moori stepped forward out of the crowd.

"Erm, yes, I've been meaning to ask but was waiting for a good time." he intercepted the conversation. "We plan to use our Dragon Balls to relocate to a new planet, but it will take time to find one that suits us… Do you have any idea of a place we could stay in the meantime so we can get our bearings?"

Bulma lowered her head to think. There were a  _lot_ of people to find a place for.

"Well, I can't say you have a whole lot of options, green men in clothing like yours aren't exactly common around here…"

The Namekians all stiffened up and gave themselves a scan.

Bulma really wanted to go home, her spaceship hadn't done her apartment justice at all. She could already imagine the hot water of her shower and the smell of her mother's freshly baked sweets…

That might just do the trick.

"Hey, I know!" she blurted out. "You guys can come stay with me at my place!"

The crowd filled itself with wide eyes and mumbles of uncertainty.

Moori's attention slid to the side, unsold.

"We mustn't impose on you, Ma'am!" he responded with an uneasy tone. "There is a good number of us, as you can see… You're sure about this?"

Bulma threw a confident fist to the sky. She imagined all the things they could do if they came with her, they would have so much to see and learn, the idea oddly resembled that of taking a vacation.

Still, she couldn't see anything wrong with the idea at face value.

"You bet, I am!" she cheered with a bright smile. "This is gonna be great! Listen, the company residence is massive, we could fit you all in, no problem. Don't worry too much about it, alright? I've got this!"

She turned around to address the more interesting of people among the pack, the grumpy prince and the shy but extremely generous lady that had been with him. The more she watched the two of them interact, the more obvious it became that there were some  _serious_ feelings between them, contrary to their obvious differences. Vegeta had been trying his damndest to act all high and mighty, but showed noticeable cracks when Rosemary hit him with something personal or offered her kindness to him. On the flip side, this lady had been surprisingly passive towards Vegeta's anger and arrogance - clearly she was used to it, or perhaps it was something even  _more_  exciting, she was the only exception to Vegeta's hatred and distaste for practically everything.

'Oh-ho  _yeah_ , he's got some unsettled business with her for  _sure_.' she told herself with a sly grin.

"And what about  _you two_?" she called over to the Saiyans in a suggestive tone. She raised an eyebrow and followed up with a smirk. " _You guys_  are gonna need a place to crash too, I'm sure."

Vegeta turned his head away from Bulma dismissively before Rosemary could get a word in. She looked up at Vegeta nervously, to find that he didn't seem even the slightest bit interested in the offer. Was it the idea of living  _together_ , in the same home, that he didn't take well to? Surely there was a solution to that if there needed to be. As for her, she was already eternally grateful to the Earthlings for their help, yet they were giving her even more opportunities? She couldn't think of a way that she'd ever be able to repay them for everything, the list of favours kept growing longer and longer...

"I… Um," Rosemary started, then paused. 'How do I want to say this…?'

Bulma gave her a wink.

"Oh, I've got  _you_  covered, don't worry!" Bulma assured her with a confident and firm smile. "Rosemary, right? You've been so kind and helpful through all of this, it's the least I could do from my end!" she shot a quick look over to Vegeta. "But Vegeta here could afford to relax a bit more, too, y'know? It's pretty obvious you two know each other."

Vegeta sprung from where he stood at the sound of his name, crossing his arms and gave Bulma an unimpressed glare. Bulma's eyes met with his in an instant.

"Yeah,  _you_." Bulma went on, a touch of annoyance in her voice. "Why don't you drop the 'high and mighty' act and chill out? You've got a  _very_  pretty little lady with you now, I'm sure you've got some catching up to do, a nice place to settle in wouldn't be a bad idea."

Without either of them willing to admit it, the two of them both knew exactly what this woman was implying, and she wasn't wrong.  _Settle_? The term seemed so private, and  _intimate_.

Humiliated, both Rosemary and Vegeta profusely flushed red. For the sake of their dignities, they refused to look at each other, their faces both warped with panic and vulnerability.

Bulma giggled at the sight. Seeing such a cold soul such as Vegeta be reduced to smothering emotion was a sight to behold. The two of them were  _adorable_ , they couldn't be more transparent about their situation than they had been.

"Oh,  _yeah_ , you do." Bulma took it upon herself to confirm for Vegeta. "So it's settled, you guys are coming-"

"Now you listen  _here_ ," Vegeta rushed in, still aghast. "I make my  _own_  decisions. I'll pass."

Knowing that Rosemary was going to immediately look up to him for an explanation, he took the initiative to look down to her instead. Sure enough, she was gawking up at him, immensely confused by his choice. She looked so distraught, no, she was  _heartbroken_  that he'd said such a thing. Was she really hoping for something so  _intrusive_?

"Don't look at me like  _that_." He told Rosemary in a softer voice. "I have my reasons, and quite simply, I need space."

Rosemary stood up to get close and personal with him. What was he thinking, acting like he had all the options in the world at his feet? His attitude was driving her to her wit's end.

"And what exactly do you plan to do as a living situation, Vegeta?" she challenged. "Like it or not, it's  _still_  my duty to take care of you, and you don't have nearly as many options as you seem to think. Just like Bulma said to the Namekians, we don't exactly look the part, either."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, defeated. She was right, her role was never dismissed, as for his appearance, he couldn't care less. He'd lived off the land of many planets in his time, adding another to the list was practically meaningless.

"Be that as it may," he rebutted rigidly, slumping over again.

Just then, something sank from inside. Having her around again was starting to soften him up against his will.

"I ask that you take some time to get comfortable. You're  _free,_ now _,_ Rosemary. Grow to enjoy that freedom, embrace it, then we'll talk..."

He shook his head. Why were the words becoming harder to say?

"For now, I- I need to face some things I wasn't expecting I would have to."

It took everything in her not to cry, the very thought of tears already brought a prickling sensation to her face. They  _finally_  had the opportunity to reunite, to be together _,_ and he wanted to be apart? She understood that it would be difficult to come to terms with losing everything, it was only natural, but it made more sense to her that he would need her  _more_ during this time, not less. It was her job to be there for him, why wasn't he letting her return to her position?

"V-Vegeta, I-" she pleaded. "I don't understand…"

"You'll  _do_  as I say." he commanded. "I'll ensure you're settled in, but you will stay there, wherever it is, on your own. That's the last order I will make today."

Being so close to her as he'd spoken, he could clearly see tears rising to claim her defeated face once more. He hated that she was upset, he did, but he desperately needed time to himself. Everything that happened on Namek, from the shock of being reunited with someone he swore off as gone forever, to the way Zarbon addressed her, gods, even the way  _Jeice_ talked about her, he needed to come to terms with the fact that they were both heavily troubled. He needed time to think about what a life without Frieza truly meant as well as what his purpose was now that he'd been without a home and a mission, among other things he'd put off having to consider.

The two of them had locked eyes on each other for what seemed like an eternity. Rosemary's eyes yearned with the urge to break down and cry, but she refused to let Vegeta see it. She wouldn't let him have this victory over her. He wasn't the same person she thought he had been, and as of now, he'd yet to earn the chance to see her in such a compromised state.

The Vegeta that she knew wouldn't want her to hurt.

The Vegeta she knew refused to have her out of his sight for more than a day.

She was one of the few, perhaps now the  _only_ person he would trust. But now, his eyes were cold, dark, and emotionless, even for his best friend.

His heart had been numbed by tragedy.

His demeanor was lethal and dangerously attuned to neglecting hardship.

There was no reasoning with him now, the prince that stood before her was serious, and his word, to her misfortune, was  _law_.

She took a breath so heavy that it could be heard from several feet away. While she may have been heartbroken, she was able to accept defeat, unlike her counterpart. Her once tense gaze on him lightened for a moment, before she took the liberty to be the first to turn away. She marched over to Bulma, stonewalled.

For now, she was giving up.

She gave Bulma a single but firm nod.

"I accept your offer." she told Bulma flatly.

Bulma took a moment to process everything that had just happened. This wasn't how she planned for this to go at all.

Regardless of the outcome, she fully planned to stick to her word. What it meant, however, was that this wonderfully sweet and selfless woman was going to grow miserable, depressed, and perhaps even a risk to herself. She didn't even want to begin to think about what this woman has been through, and she could tell that the one thing she had to look forward to, had just been ripped away from her and crushed under a merciless, soiled white boot.

Vegeta's emotions weren't one-sided, they couldn't be if she was reacting this strongly. Their feelings were  _mutual,_ and the both of them just broke each other's heart in their own way.

What a day this was turning out to be.

"Alright." Bulma managed to respond half-heartedly. "Let's go home."


	10. Amity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey guys, I wanna apologize for taking so long on this chapter. My writing style has been rapidly evolving, so it’s taking everything in me not to go back and update everything I have lol. On top of that, I’ve officially finished college and been pushing the work grind HARD. Anyway, this chapter is a big step for me in terms of worldbuilding, and I hope it shows! Enjoy the chapter, and stay cool!

**_Chapter Ten - Amity_ **

Conflicted, exhausted and distraught, Rosemary sat far away from the crowd, taking refuge under a cluster of trees to reflect as everyone waited to be picked up and taken to Bulma’s home.

The day was shaping out to be absolutely miserable. After everything they just went through on Namek, everything from being saved from torture or death to fighting for their lives together, Vegeta suddenly wanted to go separate ways? Did she follow him around out of loyalty for nothing? She questioned what had gotten into him to make such a decision, but if he truly wanted to push her away, she had to follow through for the sake of obedience. One thing she knew for sure, though, out of everything she’d felt about the situation so far, anger was the last thing she expected to have to put up with, and yet, she found herself fuming and flustered over the prince. 

It had been a long time since she found herself angry with Vegeta, and she didn’t enjoy it in the slightest - it was the horribly perfect concoction of guilt and defeat, spiked with a tantalizing temptation to be defiant.

For a moment, to her own surprise, she found herself thinking about what life would have been like if she’d went back to her usual day to day in captivity. She’d probably be locked in Zarbon’s room, boredly awaiting his return in hope that she would get a change in scenery, or be summoned to the labs for documentation on some random torture encounter they would put her through in order to achieve some kind of revolutionary behavioural change. Perhaps she should have taken the wicked general’s hand after all - considering him as a partner didn’t seem like such a bad idea after the fact. He gave her attention, affection, and unparalleled admiration, while against her will, it was still  _ something. _

Oh, how she thirsted for the reality of being  _ loved  _ and _ needed _ . The longer she gave it thought, the more her heart grew heavy and sore. 

She bowed her head in shame.

‘What the hell am I thinking?!’ she yelled at herself in disgust, flustered and confused. ‘Am I seriously dwelling on such a thing?!’

She threw her head up to the sky in hope to clear her mind and sidetrack her thoughts. Reluctantly, she continued to brood over Vegeta once again.

‘I can’t deny that I’ve been longing for this day to come for years.’ She let out a sad sigh, her gaze getting lost in the clear, blue sky above. Looking up at it in it’s bright splendor made her even more tired, yet she couldn’t bring herself look away, dazed and delirious. ‘The sheer fantasy of being free, with  _ him  _ once again was nothing more than a pipe dream _ …  _ Everything I once thought and felt, it’s all coming back to me and more, only to be thwarted by the prince himself? Do I still want this?’

She didn’t know what to expect going forward - she had a home, it was a good start for sure, but was she expected to do anything in return? Would she like where she lived? Would she be able to function like she used to; be able to cook, clean and go about her day to day as casually as she once did? Would she be alright, living on her own? Everything ahead of her was a giant question mark, she had no idea where to begin to process it all.

A soft, humming noise gradually slid it’s way into the area. In the middle of the field, Bulma began skipping around with glee, cheerfully shouting out to the open air around her.

“Alright, my dad’s here! Woo, we’re going  _ home _ !”

A giant mustard yellow aircraft touched down in an open area of the field that everyone had been taking comfort in, it’s strong propulsion working up the surrounding trees in the area.

The aircraft’s back door slowly opened with a droning hum.

Rosemary turned her head to acknowledge it, unaltered.

The first thing to emerge was a slender black-haired woman, zooming down the exit ramp and started looking around in a frenzy.

“ _ Gohan _ !” She fiendishly shrieked into the open air. “I know you’re here! Come out!”

As if expected, Gohan had already taken to hiding behind a thicker tree stump in hopes that he wouldn’t be found. To his inconvenience, the woman had already been thoroughly searching the area, creeping up on him with a heavy sigh.

“ _ Ugh _ , there you are!” she whined. “Are you hurt? Sick? Sleepy?  _ Anything _ ?” 

Gohan stepped out into the open, his head lowered in defeat.

“No, mom, I’m fine.” He groaned. “All these Namekians are nice, everything is fine. Oh, we met someone else, too, she’s taken really good care of us.”

“You brought home a  _ girl?!”  _ Chi-Chi screeched. “You’re six years old, girls can wait another  _ ten years _ !”

The woman’s shrill voice was enough to put Rosemary on guard from where she sat. She wasn’t sure if she should be worried or happy that Gohan had pointed her out to this boiling mess of a person, but her nerves were certainly on high alert now.

“No, mom, it’s not like that!” Gohan defended immediately. “She’s a bit older than me… I  _ think _ ?” his tone perked up in thought. How old  _ was _ Rosemary, anyway? He’d never bothered to ask.

“Anyway, we met her on Namek, she’s a really skilled nurse!” he tilted his head to look over towards her, immediately locking eyes with an expectant stare back. “Hey, Rosemary, come over! There’s someone I want you to meet!”

Rosemary blinked hard. She hoped that he had good intentions, giving her more of a spotlight than she’d wanted at that moment. All she wanted to do was sulk and simmer in her own pity, heaven forbid she took some time for herself, it seemed.

It  _ was _ , however, impolite to ignore an obvious request for her attention.

Begrudgingly, she got up from where she stood and blipped over to where they were in a flash, making the both of them to briefly flinch.

“You… summoned me?” Rosemary responded half-heartedly, then froze. It had been a while since she’d used such a phrase and immediately questioned if she should have - her etiquette was beginning to get sloppy, certain mannerisms were supposed to be reserved for royalty.

After taking a moment to gather herself, Chi-Chi took a step forward, following up with a scan of Rosemary’s face and hair. 

She looked fairly normal, for an alien.

Mortified, Rosemary stood torturously stiff as this stranger gave her a glowering look over. 

“Yeah!” Gohan cheered, hoping to ease her a little. “Hey, it’s okay, Rosemary, this is my mom! I thought you should meet her since you’re gonna be around a lot more now!”

Still petrified, Rosemary looked down to Gohan, then back to Chichi in acknowledgement. Indeed, there was a resemblance between the two of them - he had her eyes, completely black but harmless and tender. The woman’s hair had been as black as night as well, perhaps Gohan’s black hair resembled his mother’s more than Goku’s Saiyan style now that she took the time to think about it. Her clothes were unlike anything she had encountered, brightly coloured orange and purple robes of a thick texture similar to Goku’s gi, but they had noticeable slits in the ankle-length skirt to allow her legs to roam free as they pleased. Was this woman a known fighter, too, or was this simply a native style here?

She followed up with a polite bow, surprising the woman enough to relieve her of the deadly, protective scowl she’d been wearing.

“I-I see.” she delicately responded. “It’s noticeable, actually... It is a pleasure, um-”

“Chi-Chi.” Gohan’s mother sweetly chirped back.

Chi-Chi kneeled down to rustle Gohan’s hair with a deceptively beaming smile.

“Now then, Gohan, let’s get a move on, you’ve got yourself a nice heap of studying to do when you get back.”

Baffled, Rosemary stood among them with an awkward silence. She wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but a switch was flipped somewhere along the conversation. 

She hoped that most people weren’t as tricky and confusing as Chi-Chi.

And if they were, this was going to be a long day.

. . .

After a restless and noisy flight, as if to test Rosemary’s patience, everyone finally stepped off the aircraft with hesitant, slow strides. Walking back into the light of day, the Namekians had heads in all directions to curiously consume every inch of their new surroundings. In front of them was an enormous yellow dome-shaped structure, along with dozens of other smaller, similarly built huts as if to accompany it. The beginning and end of the property were unable to be spotted in plain view - Bulma was right, this place was  _ huge. _

She couldn’t help but ponder the architecture, it resembled nothing of what she’d seen in books and designs she had managed to get her hands on - there were less straight lines in the area than she could count on one hand. Dome shaped buildings meant that water would run freely off of them without the need for additional floodgating, an excellent idea if she said so herself. The windows were single, horizontal slats that ran along the sides of the buildings in long strips, even those were ever so gently curved and slightly indented to keep from rain and dirt building up where it was undesired. The way the ground was shaped, a miniscule and artificially layed tilt downwards, seemed to support her thoughts further. Whoever designed the property had put a great deal of thought into it, no doubt.

‘People live here?’ she thought to herself in wonder. ‘Such interesting engineering…’

An old man with a frazzled and faded grey bowlcut in an aged lab coat stepped out in front of the crowd and lit up a cigarette.

“Alright folks, we’ve, uh, reached our destination.” he awkwardly began with a small adjustment to his thick black glasses, making sure to give everyone in the crowd the same amount of attention to avoid being out of line. “Hey, Bulma, er, how do you want to do this-”

“Actually, Dad,” Bulma quickly intercepted. “I was wondering if you could show all the Namekians around the compound, I’m gonna show off the apartment like we talked about.”

Dr. Briefs gave a few hard blinks while a few Namekians turned to look at each other out of confusion and curiosity. He did recall her mentioning a thing or two about it on the phone, and gave her a slight nod.

“Er, y-yes, right.” He said after a short pause, digging through the left pocket of his coat. He pulled out a white card and handed it to her. “I assume you know what you’re doing.”

Taking the card and shoving it in one of the pockets of her roughed up yellow jacket, Bulma gently took Rosemary by the wrist and led her away from the crowd, catching a few eyes from a few people that were quickly dismissed.

“Hey,” she said in a hushed but warm tone. “I wanted to make sure that we got you settled in comfortably, so it’s just you and me for now. I wanted to give you something special for being so amazing back on Namek.”

Rosemary couldn’t bring herself to look at Bulma in the eye, her skin grew warm to the touch out of flattery.

‘ _ Amazing _ is hardly something I’ve lived up to be…’ she mulled over in a stir.

Coming back to the reality in front of her, her conscience quickly insisted that she should probably say something in response.

“S-Sure… Thank you, Bulma.” She caught herself promptly.

“Hey, no worries.” Bulma replied in a motherly tone. “I can tell that your brain is running a marathon after everything that’s happened today, I think it’s important that you have a place to properly call your own, and maybe you can finally catch some sleep.”

“Before you do,” a sharp yet unmistakable voice joined them, taking them both by surprise.

The two of them whipped around at the sound, to find none other than the Saiyan Prince standing mere feet away from them, looking Rosemary dead in the eye.

“I want a word with  _ you _ .”

Rosemary narrowed her eyes on him suspiciously in silence, causing him to harden his stare on her further.

Vegeta furrowed his brows.

“Well?” he pressured further.

Slightly annoyed, Rosemary tossed a hand out to him, a clear, unamused frown on her face.

“Lead the way,  _ my prince _ .” Rosemary finally replied in a dulled, sarcastic tone.

After a short period of seething from her sudden attitude, Vegeta led the two of them aside to a shaded area near some small home-like buildings in a haste, a sprawl of trees hiding them from sight. 

Rosemary wasn’t looking forward to what came next - what else could he possibly have to say after smashing her will to carry on to pieces?

She uttered a pained sigh.

“You summoned me, my prince?”

The words had a nostalgic but strangely pleasurable ring to his ears.

Vegeta coolly leaned up against a tree, arms folded and head bowed. He felt ridiculous, knowing he was about to have some kind of loaded conversation, and yet, he  _ yearned _ for her time. The way she had been looking at him for the past hour with firm, muted stares, it felt so  _ wrong _ and unlike her - he needed to  _ fix _ it before it drove him mad. Having a proper moment, alone with her without a need to fight for survival, was surprisingly refreshing, among other things.

“You’re thinking about this all wrong.” 

Rosemary’s eyes widened for a moment, only to form a cross expression immediately after. He was clearly cutting to the chase with this, the concept of serious conversation was far out of his element and it was evident the minute he asked for it.

There was no turning back now.

“ _ Explain _ .” She sharply snapped back.

Vegeta chuckled. As if Rosemary could ever scare him, what a  _ joke _ . And yet, he was stiff and hesitant to speak - her eyes had been hardened on him in a way he couldn’t decipher. Was she actually mad at him or just severely uncomfortable?

“You’re no threat to me, don’t waste your effort. Anger doesn’t look good on you.”

As if by command, Rosemary closed her eyes, slightly bowed her head, and let out a heavy sigh. In a way, he was right, she couldn’t hold a grudge on him even if she tried. Maybe just this once, she could give him an inch.

“Can you truly blame me for my frustration?” She whined. “I have waited  _ so _ long to finally resume my post, do you know that?!”

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow.

“To resume your post, or to simply reunite with me again?” he questioned provocatively with an attentive but intense frown. 

Rosemary paled, her mouth gently hanging open before she began to think it through. 

Go figure, he could read her like an open book, as always.

“W-Well, o-one would imply the other…” She stammered on, stunned. “So I suppose the answer to that, is  _ yes _ .”

Her hands curled into fists at her side. Of all times to tease, this was  _ not  _ the time, but deep down she knew that the prince was far more to her than just her job, she had to at least consider the possibility that he’d managed to put it together on his own.

And she hoped he hadn’t. What a predicament  _ that _ would be.

“...And you just want to  _ leave  _ me behind like I’m no longer of use to you! It  _ hurts,  _ you know! Our friendship aside, it is my  _ duty _ to look out for you! You know as well as I that it is all I have  _ ever _ known.”

His mildly irked expression turned into a far more gritted scowl.

“You make it sound as if this is something that doesn’t affect me as well!” Vegeta retaliated with a forceful growl, causing Rosemary to cower a few steps back. “These stupid emotions and feelings, I _hate_ them, yet a part of me insists that I justify my actions to you, it’s _agonizing_. Understand that I’m not one for this petty chatter as of late, but this isn’t exactly something I desire, either.”

A lump formed in his throat and he pouted with a grimace. Why was it so damn hard to talk?

“Listen well, I’m only going to say this once. I’m aware of what I’m doing. It’s tearing at every fiber of my being and I absolutely  _ hate _ it because nothing has put me in such a position in…  _ agh,  _ forever. However, we both need time and space, to-”

His tongue managed to catch itself on every syllable he uttered. Gods, he sounded like such a  _ fool _ .

“... _Adjust_ to whatever lies ahead. I need this. _You_ need this. For the first time in my life, I have no home, no mission, no... _purpose._ I need time to think, alone _._ You _cannot_ tell me that you shouldn’t be doing the same.”

Rosemary’s eyes drifted away from him in thought. The concept of leaving him alone to his thoughts bred fear in her mind... It sat atop of the list of things she supposed to prevent happening at all costs - his temper was his true downfall, and among everything else, it was dangerous and destructive. 

But, to her unfortunate defeat, he was probably right about that as well. Imagine, the prince talking sense into her.

“Look, I hate saying crap like this, but I don’t wish for such hardship on you. Whether you like it or not, you’re so damn  _ pure _ . You can’t handle it, and quite simply, you don’t deserve it. You have a new home waiting, your own space for the first time in what we know to be an eternity. Imagine, you can read all the books and sip away at as much tea as you’d like. If you can’t find it within yourself to find a reason to, do it for my sake - worrying about you is not on my agenda as of late.”

As he finished, Rosemary teared up once again and glazed her attention over the trees behind him. As much as she was hurting, as much as her heart ached at the very thought of being alone once again, she could tell that Vegeta was weak as well - such moments where he admitted his exposures were few and far between, and the moments where he was visibly worked up in something other than frustration were just as rare. Up until now, admittedly, she hadn’t really considered his side of things, there was simply too much happening. Being on Namek threw everything she thought she had known about the man into a whirlwind of confusion. Thinking back on it further now, perhaps she was being overly selfish.

For now, she could only appreciate that he pulled her aside to share in his vulnerability, and in doing so, she was reassured that he indeed cared about her in some way, shape, or form.

“I understand.” she spoke out gently. “It won’t be forever. At first, I wasn’t so sure.”

Vegeta let out a deep, relieved exhale. At last, after tormenting himself with petty emotional self assessment, she had finally been calmed.

He managed a small smirk. “It won’t. I may be vain, but you’ve more than earned my amity.”

The way he smiled just then was enough to make her feel like she was melting, and while only a little, she knew he’d meant it and every word he spoke. It wouldn’t cure her of the loneliness and depression she was likely to face ahead, but it put her at enough ease to get her through the moment.

Her lips quivered as her eyes went on to form steady wells of tears, but this time, she could bring herself to smile.

To Vegeta’s surprise, before he knew it, he was being tightly embraced by her in a flash - apparently, her speed was getting difficult to keep track of.

“What are you-?!” He irritably grunted, now awkwardly outstretching his arms out to his sides. 

Something wet crept onto his shoulder. Taking a moment to listen in on staggered breaths, he loosened his arms and lowered them back down to his sides, uninterested in such a public display. He thought he’d been strong enough to tolerate her fragile spirit... As the number of times he’d reduced her to tears went up, the more difficult it proved to be to overcome - she was so  _ close  _ to him, the very sound of her weak cry left him a pitiful, loathingly sensitive wreck.

“I won’t make you dwell on this much longer, I should be going, but…” Rosemary sobbed, her chin resting on a thick, brawny shoulder. “Could you at least visit once in a while?”

Indifferent, Vegeta looked down at her classically messy, pointed locks of hair as she perched on him, awaiting a response. Interestingly, her hair had grown even longer since their teenage years - it went all the way down to her thighs instead of the familiar length that peaked just above her waist. It had smoothed out more than remembered, perhaps it had grown thicker and heavier over the years - it tempted him to run his fingers through it to examine it further, but resisted to avoid a knowingly stern but harmless scolding.

He was getting caught up in things he couldn’t afford to dwindle on at the moment.

“We’ll see.”

Rosemary chuckled and withdrew from him quickly, giving him a mischievous smirk and a firm look in the eye.

“It’s either that or I may have to eventually try and find you.”

Odd, as menacing as it sounded, the taunt had left a peculiar taste of satisfaction in her mouth.

“Once I master this ability to sense energy, paired with my speed, just  _ imagine _ how quick I could pull it off... I hardly know what I’m capable of anymore.”

Vegeta grimaced. His chest grew breathtakingly warm, as if his blood spiked a few degrees at the thought of a challenge. This particular side of her personality was going to be dangerous, he liked these cocky spurts of playful rebellion  _ far _ too much. The last thing he needed, however, was for her to be some place he couldn’t find her on the off-chance that he wanted her around after all.

“Fine.” Vegeta tastelessly scorned. “Just know that I don’t take nicely to threats, even from you.”

Rosemary giggled. “I know all too well.”

 She finally turned away from him to head back to Bulma and looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes one last time. “For now, I suppose this is farewell.”

“Don’t die before I return.” Vegeta remarked blandly.

With a final snicker, Rosemary promptly leapt away in a single, clean movement. ‘I guess that’s his current way of wishing someone good luck,’ she humorously thought to herself.

And with that, Vegeta found himself alone.

 

Appearing in front of Bulma a split second later with a smooth slide in from the side, Rosemary politely bowed to her.

“I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting...” Rosemary pleaded quickly. “I should be completely available now. Please, continue with what you were going to show me.”

Bulma snorted before she went on with a gentle burst of laughter.

“Gosh, you’re so polite, Rosemary... You could probably tone it down a notch or two!” she cheekily nudged Rosemary’s side with an elbow. “That little chat seemed like it did something, at least.”   
  


“I-It did, I suppose.” she managed to respond. “But, it doesn’t change the circumstances. This is, quite honestly, going against everything I’ve grown to accept.”

Bulma put a hand over Rosemary’s shoulder, leading the two of them into the giant dome that sat in the center of the compound.

“I know it’s gonna take a while to get used to and this isn’t your usual scenery, but I think that you’re going to like it here!” Bulma tried to nudge her further. “And to start, I’m going to show you your new apartment!”

The two of them walked briefly through the main lobby of Capsule Corporation, taking a moment to pause in front of an exhibition of sorts. A large portion of the lobby was dedicated to an island of grass that had been surrounded by crystal clear water and a guard rail to isolate it, accompanied by a variety of animals, small and large, inhabiting the area peacefully. 

Fascinated, Rosemary took a step towards it and leaned on the rail in wonder. How was it possible to create such a sustainable home for so many creatures in an enclosed, secluded space? Certainly, the various species had conflicting needs… And yet, all of the scaly critters and larger, fluffy mammals seemed to be fine with roaming among each other, as if they had been domesticated to live in harmony despite the food chains and predation that typically came with it.

She quickly looked up at the ceiling, to find that just like the exterior of the building, it was dome shaped. Despite her previous assumption that this was the main building given it’s position on the property, the building itself must not have served much of a purpose if the very room they were standing in reached all the way up to the top of the structure - or perhaps it was just a deceptive design for the sake of aesthetic.

Bulma watched as Rosemary took everything in with such an innocent curiosity. It was like watching a child look at fireworks for the first time, or perhaps the first glance of a giant, bulk candy store.

A wide smile from cheek to cheek, she giggled. This Saiyan woman had such a genuine interest in learning and discovery, compared to Vegeta, who just wanted to destroy and kill everything, Rosemary’s docile nature was quite the curveball... 

Being the world-renowned scientist that she was, she could already tell that the two of them were going to hit off well, and maybe even become coworkers down the line.

“Well, it looks like you’ve already found something to cheer you up a little!” she called over to Rosemary in a cheery tone.

Rosemary looked back to her from over her shoulder.

“It’s… not something I see every day is all.” she responded with some residual gloom and sadness from earlier. “It’s strange but fascinating, I’m used to animals fighting and eating each other to survive, everything was so ravenous on Vegeta-sei...”

Bulma jerked her head off to the right to gesture Rosemary to follow.

“Come on, we haven’t even gotten to your place yet!” Bulma teased. “You get to look at the animals and stuff every day if you want to, but I want you to get comfy and cleaned up!”

Rosemary gave Bulma a few blinks, then scurried back over so Bulma could lead her onwards. The thought of a hot shower coming soon  _ did  _ sound lovely.

“R-Right…”

Bulma sighed. It was definitely going to take some effort to loosen this girl up.

“Man, you’re really shy and formal, huh.” She continued to make conversation, leading her through a short hallway that stopped in front of a smaller lobby for an elevator. Pressing a button beside the closed off entrance, the two of them came to a halt.

After Bulma looked over to her for a response, Rosemary quickly blushed once again.

“I suppose…” She responded after some hesitation. “I’m used to being surrounded by royalty and very high ranked, powerful officials… And, of course, soldiers that could easily take my life in an instant if they so felt like it. I’ve been primed to be passive and rather accepting of things over the years.”

Alerting the two of them with a faint but pleasant  _ ding _ , the doors to the elevator mechanically slid open with some quiet humming from the internal workings.

“Oh yeah, about that,” Bulma went on perkily, being the first to enter. “I have to ask, really, just how long have you been, well, captured?”

Following close behind and hastily taking a position beside Bulma, Rosemary bowed her head to think.

“Well, I’d need to know what the date is and the year, assuming it lines up with the system that we Saiyans and the Frieza Force used to keep time…” She paused for a moment to try and rack her brain, but couldn’t. Instead, she gave a disappointed sigh. “I don’t think I even know my age anymore…”

Bulma was ready to come to the rescue once again, but the alarm bells were warning her that this wasn’t going to be a small number if it was long enough for Rosemary, this surprisingly intelligent and organized woman, to lose all sense of her surroundings.

“You know, Earth has its own way of telling time, as I’m sure most planets do,” she went on with a confident grin, hunching over to get her attention.

Rosemary anticipatedly looked back up to meet her eyes. She was perfectly ready to do the math.

“ _ But _ , for those of us in the science industry such as myself, we have a universal way to age the galaxy based on our own knowledge, maybe that helps?”

Rosemary’s expression beamed with interest, her mouth slightly hanging open in surprise and her eyes wide with thrill. Bulma was starting to speak in ways that began to catch her attention far more now - up until this point, she wasn’t sure what to expect from the woman that showed an apparent taste in  _ Zarbon  _ of all people. If the compound belonged to her family, Bulma must have been wealthy, and if she was a woman of science as she had claimed, having the riches to match must have meant that her work was  _ well _ received.

Strange looking spacecrafts, intriguing architecture and well thought out designs, yes, everything was beginning to make more sense now - no normal person would typically have access to such things. She hadn’t been giving Bulma the appropriate amount of credit up until now, it seemed.

“Oh! Maybe, yes!” Rosemary replied cheerily, giddily leaning in to hear more. “Please, do tell me!”

Bulma looked forward to ponder.

“Right now we’re in  _ Age 762 _ … I think? I’d have to check the lab to be sure, but it’s something like that. My dad was doing some research on the planet Namek before we set out to travel there.”

“762?” Rosemary gasped, mouthing the words again under her breath. “That sounds correct, but goodness, I didn’t think it had been so  _ long _ … I was born in what would have been our Year 732, and I was captured in Year 750, I was just under eighteen…” 

She blinked hard. Fourteen years? 

Putting it all together in her head as well, Bulma looked over in shock as she began to realize what exactly she was dealing with. This poor woman had barely experienced life at all, and yet, she seemed so sophisticated, so  _ composed _ ...

“So, roughly, half of my life.”

The elevator  _ ding- _ ed again, the doors opening to let them out as the two of them stood in a short but heavy silence.

Bulma was the first to step out of the elevator, outstretching a hand out to Rosemary to get her to follow.

“You know, with all the talk of capture and whatnot,” she attempted to break the tension with more casual talk. “I kinda assumed it was a lot less than that since you talk so loosely about it… Geez, I wasn’t expecting something like that…”

Dazed at the idea, she mulled over it further as she led Rosemary down the hallway for a few more steps, then halted once again.

“Wait, you’re  _ thirty?!” _

Rosemary nervously slowed to a stop. Did her age matter to anything?

“If your information matches up with my own, then yes, I suppose so…” she answered.

Shocked, Bulma gave her another scan. Nothing about Rosemary looked overly matured - she had a petite build that reluctantly reminded her of the ‘gifted’ girls she dealt with coming out of highschool, tiny but curvy from the waist down, along with surprisingly smooth skin despite being apparently tortured… Wait, where was her bust? Surely if she was an older woman, she wouldn’t be as flat-chested as she looked. No, maybe it was the chestplate she was wearing that  _ clearly  _ didn’t compliment anything of hers, but at least her tight grey bodysuit picked up the slack.

Rosemary cluelessly awaited some kind of further instruction from Bulma as she continued to awkwardly stare back at her.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out like that, shoot, I already forgot you’re shy.” Bulma gently rushed in. “It’s just,  _ wow _ , you look so young, you can hardly tell!”

The two of them resumed their stroll down the hall, coming up to a wide, green door to their left. There weren’t many doors in this area, to Rosemary’s surprise, the only other she could spot other than this one was at the end of the hallway.

Bulma fumbled around in the pockets of her banged up yellow cargo jacket.

“So, wait, if you’re  _ thirty _ ,” she continued, pulling out a small white card after having to dig through three separate compartments. “What does that make Vegeta?”

Rosemary held up a finger as a matter of factly. Finally, a topic she could speak of in confidence.

“We are the same age.” she explained in a firm, informant tone. “Prince Vegeta is ten days older than me-”

“Oh, come on!” Bulma sighed and threw up her hands, disappointed. “I was hoping he was a little younger, honestly, you seem smarter and more responsible than he is… You guys look like you just hit  _ twenty _ , if anything.”

Bulma took the card and stepped up to the door, swiping it through a small slot on the right edge of the doorframe. A light from inside of the slot shone a bright green, and a couple of seconds later, the door slid off to the side in a much quicker, more silent fashion than the elevator had.

“It may have something to do with the fact that Saiyans have a much longer period of youth than most other species we know of.” Rosemary added after a small chuckle.

Bulma took a step inside, gently leading Rosemary with an arm.

“We are a warrior race, our genetics allow us to-”

A cool breeze rushed over the both of them as they found themselves among the entrance of what looked to be a residence. The room was incredibly spacious from where they stood, the two of them looking out into the radiantly lit room in wonder.

Rosemary’s words came to a slow as her eyes blankly washed over her surroundings, lost in the openness that the dwelling had to offer. The back wall had been entirely made of glass panels from floor to ceiling, allowing plenty of natural light from outside to grace the room with an elegant, bright glow. The windows split in the middle to accomodate a double door, which led to what Rosemary assumed was a balcony of some variety. In the far left corner, there was a bookcase with a few empty shelves, accompanied by a beige lounge chair and some matching sofas, as well as a screen-like device whose purpose she wasn’t sure of at the time that sat on it’s own stand. A communicator, perhaps? She made a mental note to ask Bulma.

Bulma happily glanced over to Rosemary as she looked at her new home for the first time. From what she could see, Rosemary looked to be completely awestruck. The sun’s rays illuminated her face just enough for Bulma to notice what could be the early signs of tears, her eyes had an increased glossiness to them, and while the lids of her eyes showed her fatigue and exhaustion, they hadn’t began to twitch just yet.

Bulma carefully placed a hand on Rosemary’s shoulder so as not to frighten her. 

“Well, this is it.” Bulma announced with a bright smile. “Your apartment!”

Rosemary’s hands began to quiver at her sides. Was Bulma serious? This place was  _ massive,  _ and she assumed that this was only the beginning. She couldn’t fathom a personal residence so large for a commoner, in fact, it even rivaled that of the prince’s quarters back at the palace.

“M-Mine?!” she stammered, completely dumbfounded. “Gods, Bulma, I… I d-don’t know what to say…”

“Well, we’re not done yet, so you have some time to figure it out,” Bulma joked, leading her off to the right. The two of them approached an archway in the wall, passing a long, glass table that had been paired with some dark wooden chairs off to the side in the back corner of the room. “I’m guessing you probably had some fancy dining hall back home… We have one downstairs, too, kinda, but you’ve got your own dining table. And, over in  _ here,” _ she walked through the entrance to the next room over. “You’ve got your kitchen.”

Hesitant to step inside, Rosemary peered in through the side of the archway, to find a smaller room compared to the main foyer, complete with refrigeration on the right, a single four-element stove, a wash sink off on the left wall and multiple cabinets around the room, all linked together with lightly coloured cupboards that had been topped with a charcoal grey, stone-like countertop. It certainly wasn’t the Royal Kitchen, by any means, but for herself, it was more than sufficient.

At a complete loss for words, Rosemary let out a helpless sigh.

Bulma came out of the kitchen, and started heading for the other side of the apartment and into a small corridor. Rosemary wasn’t sure if she could handle much more, but she followed anyways.

Now left of the main room, Bulma passed a couple of mirror-faced doors by the main entrance that housed a closet and stopped in front of two new doorways, both half open and parallel to one another. After a moment to ponder which she should show first, she turned towards the left facing enclosure, pushing the slightly opened door aside and flicking on a light switch.

Inside was a cozy, sparkly clean washroom. At the opposite end of the room, there was a small, partitioned area with a tinted green glass door, giving the shower a confined, private feeling.

Stepping into the doorway, Rosemary took a curious peek inside, immediately locking eyes on a generously sized, pearly white washtub. Letting out another sigh of relief, she briefly looked over the rest of the bright room, the remaining features not nearly as high an interest to her.

“Like pretty much every woman in existence, I’m sure you like hot baths.” Bulma added with a giggly smile. “So of course, you have both a shower and a tub.”

Rosemary gave a warm smile, already imagining the incredible sensation of freshly ran, scalding hot water over her body, along with a wonderful aroma of one of her floral soaps from home.

“Oh  _ yes _ ,” She responded dreamily, her cheeks rosy with delight. “They are one of my favourite things in the universe… And I have been deprived of them for so _ , so  _ long.”

“You’re in heaven then, the tub’s all yours.” Bulma laughed. “Well, would you look at that, I’m finally learning things about you! Alright, well that’s the bathroom, not really much to comment on there, one more room.”

Bulma proceeded immediately across the small alcove and pushed the door aside to reveal Rosemary’s new bedroom, which quickly greeted the both of them with a similar, pleasantly and naturally lit room.

The daylight seeped its way past Bulma and quickly caught her attention, drawing her in towards the next room over. 

She took slow but awestruck steps, and froze in the doorway.

Just like the main room, the back wall was almost entirely glass panels, with a door leading out onto a balcony that looked to be connected to the main room - Rosemary made another mental note to have a look at the view later on after everything here was done.

As if her home wasn’t obnoxious enough, goodness, what a large bed she had… Off to the left side was a mattress that arguably sat taller and wider than even the most luxurious of beds she’d laid eyes on in her time - she briefly recalled Zarbon’s odd obsession with having a massive spread to sleep on, one of the few things she strangely appreciated about the cruel general’s tastes. The top layer of the linens looked to be a rather thick, white but ever so slightly purple blanket, on top of matching sheets and to her excitement, complemented by half a dozen pillows. 

Thank the gods above, she  _ loved  _ pillows. 

She could already feel the soft, cloud-like textures brushing against her cheek… She’d already known that the first time she’d sleep here would be a very heavy, extended but greatly needed rest.

“ _ Annnnd _ for our final stop, your bedroom.” Bulma called out to the wondrous silence after a minute’s inspection. “I gotta say, you’ve got yourself one of the best beds that man has ever created.”

“It... appears that way, it’s  _ enormous _ .” Rosemary remarked, approaching the giant mass and smoothed over the covers - a surprisingly smooth and plush texture danced across the tips of her fingers as she worked her hand over the fabric. “I could fit five of myself in this…”

“Oh- _ ho _ , it doesn’t end at the size,  _ trust me. _ ” Bulma proudly boasted. “The man that used to live here, he’s my dad’s best friend and co-founder of the company that is now the leading brand in the world for all sorts of things! He had a knack for lifestyle and home-related projects, and the blanket on your bed is one of his personal designs and best-sellers.”

She joined Rosemary at the bedside, took hold of a corner of the blanket and lifted it to show off it’s surprisingly thin but dense nature.

“Give  _ this _ a feel.” She went on, passing the handful of linen to Rosemary, watching as Rosemary’s hand gave slightly under the deceiving, heavy weight that the blanket had hidden away.

Rosemary’s eyes grew wide in confusion.

“It’s… heavy?” She gasped. “Interesting, but I have to ask why this is the case? It seems rather odd, to have the desire of being pinned against your bed.”

“Ah- _ ha _ .” Bulma snickered, her thoughts temporarily travelling to the less innocent side of her brain. “Part of Mr. Lawson’s research found that heavier blankets simulate the feeling of being embraced or cuddled, and as such, it’s shown to lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as help those with insomnia get a better night’s rest! Cool, huh?”

_ ‘Those with insomnia.’ _

Playing back the words again, Rosemary thought of the short moment from earlier in the day where she’d brought up Vegeta’s sleep issues, a warm wave of guilt rushing its way through her limbs. Dwelling on the idea, she probably could have found other ways to divert his attention from attacking the boy that didn’t affect his dignity, but what’s done was done.

Pained with regret, she sighed yet again.

“Hey, speaking of sleep,” Bulma nudged, “I bet you’re exhausted, you nearly collapsed earlier! Maybe it’s time you got some shut-eye, yeah?”

“Maybe…” Rosemary sadly trailed off. 

She missed Vegeta already. 

“Tell me, Bulma… This is all so lovely and I don’t have the words to thank you enough, but do you expect anything in return for all of this?”

Bulma shook her head with a cheeky grin.

“I had a feeling you’d ask that, and nope, it’s yours!” She clapped back. “Now that Mr. Lawson’s retired and everything, though, he’s moved out to go and travel the world, so I may have some lab assistant jobs opening up though if it’s something that tickles your fancy. Take some time to think about it though, it’s been a long day, and I know it’s going to take some time to adjust.”

She put a hand on Rosemary’s shoulder.

“Let’s get this, uh…” She ran a thumb over the slightly scratched metal straps on Rosemary’s chest plate. “... _ armour _ off of you.”

Ah yes,  _ finally _ .

With a slight snicker, Rosemary was sold. Knowing a small battle was upon her, she took a step back to give herself ample room to fight with her clothing. Slipping off her white gloves and boots, she took a deep breath to prepare.

“Now that you mention it, I  _ do _ hate this thing.” she replied with a grin, clutching the bottom of the plate and wriggled it over her chest with frustration. “The thought that I may never have to wear this again is reassuring.”

As if it was stuck before, the armour popped off of her body as she finally lifted it above her head, releasing her breasts to bounce and then naturally sit against her with a quick jolt of pain to her collar area. 

Bulma watched in wonder as the top half of Rosemary’s body structure began to show it’s true nature. It was like she’d gone through a magical transformation in front of her eyes - her waist curved  _ in  _ now instead of the boring, straight lines she’d had up until now _ ,  _ as a proper woman’s body should, and the flat chest that had made her appear even more youthful than she’d already been had really just been a healthy bustline that was forcefully squished down. She pondered the size of it for a moment, trying not to awkwardly stare right at Rosemary’s breasts for longer than a second. There was no way these were D’s... C’s, however, very likely. She told herself to remember that detail for later.

Were all Saiyan women like this? Crazy good curves, adorably small and pretty, no wonder Vegeta grew weak at the very sight of her. It was almost unfair - even the most fortunate of Earth’s girls growing up couldn’t pull this off with the greatest metabolisms and strictest of diets out there. Perhaps the lifestyle she'd had going before this wasn't the most humane, either.

Setting the plate down on a table beside the bed with a wince, Rosemary took a seat on the edge of the bed, clutching at her chest uncomfortably under her arms and crossing her legs at the ankles, awkwardly squeezing her thighs together.

“Forgive me, normally I would have other clothes available to change into…” she mentioned stiffly, shoving her hair aside to avoid sitting on it. “These suits aren’t typically worn alone…”

“So, you  _ are  _ a woman under that thing.” Bulma teased, contently squaring her arms. “I don’t want to think about how sore your chest is right now if it was  _ that  _ tight.”

Rosemary hugged herself even tighter, bashfully looking down at the floor.

“More than it should be, admittedly.”

“We can fix that,” Bulma assured her with a wink. “You know, other than maybe your height, you’re probably a good fit for some of my clothes, and I have  _ plenty  _ that I could afford to give up.” 

Rosemary looked off to the side. As if an entirely new home wasn’t enough, Bulma was going to completely remodel her as well? Everything was beginning to feel similar to her first encounter with the Saiyan Palace, all the way down to the unthinkably kind caregiving staff that constantly insisted that the space was hers to share. 

At least back then, she’d been given a job to earn her position.

She wasn’t going to bother challenging it at this point, in fact, Bulma probably wouldn’t  _ let _ her.

Bulma gave her another look over from head to toe. “Yeah, how about this - while you catch up on some rest, I’ll go dig through my wardrobe and put some stuff aside for you. That way, when you wake up, we can get you all cleaned up and dressed and I’ll show you around some more! Sound like a plan?”

The way she was making it all sound, it was like Rosemary was some kind of play thing that an infant would dress and pretend was a person for the sake of leisure. She did, however, need new clothes, and if she was going to be an Earth civilian from now on, she could afford to trust a seemingly wealthy and famous figure. 

For now, she would oblige.

“S-Sure.” She replied with a small nod, curling her legs up onto the bed in a single, smooth swing. “I hope I don’t stay asleep for too long, I don’t want to keep you.”

“It’s only one in the afternoon, it won’t be dark for a while still.” Bulma informed her with a more welcoming, gentle tone. “Trust me, you’ll be  _ fine _ , quit your worrying.”

Rosemary chuckled. As if she hadn’t heard that a million times before.

“You’re beginning to sound like someone else I know.” Rosemary joked, carefully crawling up to the half dozen pillows at the head of her bed.

Bulma took a seat on the edge to watch her get settled in.

“Hey, now, don’t lump me in with  _ him _ .” She retorted. “Go on, get under the blanket, I wanna know what you think of it. It’s not often I get to do this kinda thing, you know?”

And yet, she’d just offered up the compound to an entire civilization of alien survivors. Was there a limit to this woman’s charity?

After a good deal of effort, Rosemary managed to lift the dense blanket enough to slide herself under and gently eased herself down onto the pillows.

As the soft fluff of the cushions began to give under the weight of her, every limb of her body relaxed, leaving her with an otherworldly, almost weightless sensation. The cool smoothness of the linens caressed her cheeks as she comfortably nuzzled in, and their delicate touch against her skin was enough to make her skin shiver in pleasure. Turning onto her side, she let the heavy blanket settle on top of her, pressing securely against her hips to hug her figure - Bulma was right, it did feel sort of like an embrace.

She didn’t think she would get such a joyful experience like this ever again - she could finally rest on her own terms, under her own sheets, in a bed that was hers and  _ only  _ hers.

Before she knew it, she was overwhelmingly crying. Her tears effortlessly trickled onto the pillows, and she finally gave up on trying to fight her emotions for the day.

And so, she sobbed quietly to her heart’s desire.

“This is wonderful…” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry, this is just-” She took a quick breath in between sobs and hid a little more under the sheets. “I don’t how to say what this means to me, Bulma, just... understand that I am eternally grateful.”

Bulma put a hand on a lump of blanket and gently massaged it with her thumb.

“That’s all I need.” She smiled. “The majority of my life has been spent around big, brawny boys that want to do nothing but train and fight. They’re my best friends, of course, but it’s great having new people around.” she stroked the soft mass slowly, not actually sure if Rosemary could feel it underneath due to the thickness of the cover. “We probably value life differently than you’re used to on Earth, death happens but it’s either a crime or natural when it does, but the important part is that you saved a lot of people and that’s a  _ big _ deal.”

“Now that you mention it…” Rosemary adjusted slightly under the sheets. “How did Vegeta become acquainted with this planet? I have my suspicions, but I think it could give me some insight on things...”

“I’ll save that story for when you wake up.” Bulma winked. “Geez, you’re like a big kid, you’re so curious and excited... I’ve got so much to tell you and teach you, I think we’re going to be good friends.” she gave Rosemary a final wink. “But for now, get some rest.”

Rosemary unburied her face from the pillows to take a few strained breaths.

  
“V-Very well…”

After that, the two of them remained silent as Rosemary continued to cry into her pillows, and after another fifteen minutes of constant blubbering, Rosemary had finally fallen into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Leaving her with a heartwarming smile, Bulma took her leave from Rosemary’s room, and proceeded back down to the landing area of the compound to work on settling in everyone else.

. . .

“Vegeta, come on out!” a shrilling voice irritably rang in his ears through the speakers. 

If she was trying to sound any bit appealing, this harpy-like blonde woman certainly wasn’t going to sell him on  _ anything _ like this.

 “I’ve got some drinks for everyone! I made you a Shirley Temple, it’s  _ delicious _ !”

He’d thought that taking refuge in an idle spacecraft would get him away from the crowd, so obnoxious and sickeningly happy now that they’ve relocated and settled in. What were they thinking, keeping an unlocked and readily accessible ship out in the open as if it were some kind of recreation? Such a device wasn’t meant to be a  _ play thing _ . If he’d wanted to, he could have blasted off in a second and no one would see him again. But for a reason unknown to him, people seemed to casually invite him to join them despite everything that happened just hours prior, despite everything that he had done  _ to _ them in his own attempt to find calm.

And yet, he was hesitant. Somewhere in the corner of his brain, the tiniest fraction of him lacked closure, and it was enough to make him lethargic. In some vast valley of his conscience, part of him didn’t seem content with the fact that he was parting ways with a friend.

A uniquely close, highly respected, emotionally suffering and likely traumatized friend. Ally, perhaps? No,  _ friend _ .

He thought he was past such sentiment - he’d thrown his heart to the empty void of space long ago, so why did his chest feel so heavy today? Why were his words so taxing? Why hadn’t he just left already? These were all simple things with simple solutions, but every decision felt like it would be his last.

He was… vulnerable.

He whipped open the door to the spacecraft, fuming in denial, only to be met with an all-too familiar blue haired woman that blocked his path, alone.

With a cocky grin and a hip out to the side, Bulma narrowed her eyes on him.

“So, you’re still here, huh?


End file.
